New Years Resolutions
by Terrified of Logic
Summary: Rangiku was a woman of indulgence. But there was one indulgence she wasn't planning on giving into this year. This year she wasn't going to nurse a broken heart. She refused to feel the ache and frustration of a failed relationship. Or so she's told herself, but is a certain fox-face able to change her mind? GinRan (As of chapter 8, this story will now be rated M!)
1. Chapter 1

Attempting a multific after a long hiatus of something like 2 years. A slow start and introduction...and who even reads these..

* * *

_x_

_1. Will lose 3 kilos by the end of June. (need that pretty bikini for summer)_

_2. Will stop drinking. (wine doesn't count- just grape juice)_

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky._

_4. Will not fall in love again. Ever._

_x_

_Chapter 1_

_x_

The rich warmth and bittersweet smell pleasantly assaulted the young woman's senses as she opened the door. Rangiku Matsumoto stood in the entrance for a brief moment savouring the small luxury she allowed herself each morning. Coffee. How could she start her day without it? Damn, that wasn't even a question worth answering.

Someone coughed pointedly behind her and she quickly walked in and placed her order. As she waited, she looked around wondering absentmindedly if the place had added something to the interior decoration. Her brightly coloured nails clicked on the shiny wooden counter as she contemplated the menu for today. The coffee shop was a tucked away affair on the corner of a large busy shopping street. A cosy, seemingly timeless place that welcomed newcomers as well as regulars. Rangiku smiled with pride as she knew she was now considered one of the know-how's, being known by name and coffee. Well. It was kind of hard not to be known, seeing as she's been here every morning without fail for the last six months or so, and with her bad habit of routine- she'd ordered the exact thing for… Six months or so.

"Black one milk two sugars!" A cheery voice rang out, placing her order on the counter.

"Wait, I didn't order the croissant." Rangiku started as she saw the pastry steaming, golden brown on a plate next to her coffee.

"Shh, it's on the house." A girl with bright green hair winked at her.

"Next!"

Rangiku giggled but took her coffee and pastry anyway, finding her favourite place to sit. The sky was overcast today but she didn't mind.

Taking her place at a small round table by the large window, she took out a tabloid and started reading.

Rangiku was a woman of indulgence. She took care of herself and the people around her. She thought that she should enjoy life the way it was given. Over the years, she'd given into the temptation of chocolate boxes, flowers, little trinkets and of course… Men. She knew she was fairly materialistic but weren't most women anyway to some degree? Perhaps she was more materialistic than others, but only because she just happened to love pretty things. And love pretty things she did. She wore her favourite tops till they were tattered rags, she kept flowers till they congealed green and sticky in their vases… And she dated men till her heart fell to pieces. If it was one thing she couldn't do, she couldn't say goodbye to anything, no matter how she knew she ought to.

Rangiku put down her paper to take a bite out of her warm croissant. The delicious pastry melted into buttery pieces of richness in her mouth with minimal effort. The top of the croissant was baked to crispy perfection while the inside was warm and chewy, just the way she liked it.

As she sipped her coffee her wandering gaze made eye contact with the man sitting in front of her. He gave her a friendly smile which immediately made her pick up the tabloid to hide behind it once more.

Rangiku was a woman of indulgence. But there was one indulgence she wasn't planning on giving into this year. This year she wasn't going to nurse a broken heart. She refused to feel the ache and frustration of a failed relationship. With that thought in mind she viciously tore into her croissant again chewing it savagely as she immersed herself within her tabloid once more.

Her phone buzzed urgently on the table making Rangiku jump, an irritating alarm going off quietly telling her she needed to move her ass unless she wanted to be late to class. She quickly folded the tabloid and drank the rest of her coffee that had gone cold in the past hour. The shop had been moderately busy when she came in but now the shop was packed to capacity, with people lining up outside. Rangiku stared longingly at the deli sandwiches that had been placed in anticipation of the lunch rush hour but she knew if she waited in line to buy them there would be no point in showing up to class.

Edging out the door, jostling a few people to get by she found herself on the pavement walking towards the bus to get to her university.

The bus ride had been much too quick in her opinion and she found herself staring ruefully at the whiteboard and the small frail but surprisingly strict lecturer that stood in front, tottering in front of the podium. The lesson plan had been written up on the board and Rangiku groaned not understanding a word of what was written there. God she hated statistics. She hated maths in general. She had excelled at most subjects at school but maths and anything that involved maths proved to be another situation entirely.

A bony little finger worked it's way painfully into the sensitive place between her ribs and she hissed a low ouch before turning to face her seatmate crossly.

"Wake up."

The offending finger and voice belonged to a small boy, too young to be in university and too smart to be in high school. Though despite being described as "young" he was officially eighteen (eighteen last month) and taking second year classes. His messy white hair, half hid an amused stare as he looked at a defeated Rangiku.

"You have to pay attention or you'll fail this class…again." He smirked, twirling a pencil between lithe fingers.

"Don't remind me." Rangiku grumbled, a light blush working it's way on to her cheeks. She couldn't afford to fail statistics again. One because if she didn't pass stats she wouldn't be able to graduate and two, going through another semester of statistics would be hell and three it would just be extremely humiliating.

Toshiro had actually passed stats way back in his first year, in fact he didn't actually gain any new knowledge from the class because he'd learnt everything in his advanced mathematics class back in high school, however the university still deemed it necessary for him to take it in order to pass. So why was he taking it again in his second year when he'd already passed the course? The answer lay with his strawberry blonde friend who was currently whispering in his ear rapidly, asking him to explain what the fuck the teacher was talking about. It was an easy class and he didn't mind taking it again. He'd be a fool to deny that he had used to harbour a tiny crush on his curvy and attractive friend but who didn't? The feelings were soon gone due to the fact that Rangiku had shown absolutely no interest in him and didn't even seem to realise he'd liked her, even just a little bit. He couldn't honestly say he cared that much though, it was more his body speaking than anything else. He liked being with Rangiku as a friend more than anything else. Anyway he was happily with his girlfriend of six months, who he was currently texting under the table whilst explaining what binomials were to a clueless Rangiku.

"I don't get it." She muttered again for the umpteenth time, pushing her pencil between her lips.

Toshiro sighed heavily, his patience running thin. He wrote out the theory again and explained what each part was with examples attached.

"Wait I think I kind of get it." Rangiku hurriedly scribbled something in her notebook and showed it to him. He nodded curtly and turned back to his phone which told him he got a new message.

"Everything still good with Momo?" Rangiku asked winking at him.

Toshiro blushed furiously. Everything was more than alright with Momo, especially if last night was anything to go by.

"AHA. Someone got laid last night." Rangiku poked him back in the ribs, payback for earlier.

"Shut up."

"Did you follow my advice? Did she like it?" Rangiku asked cheekily, remembering how Toshiro had asked her the other day on how to loosen Momo up and have her relax more in bed. It had taken Toshiro everything not to implode into a quivering mass of embarrassment as he asked his trusted friend on such matters. Rangiku, of course, had milked the moment for all it was worth taking a mental snapshot of the flustered young genius.

"…"

"Well did it?" She prodded him again.

"…Yes." Came the inaudible mutter from her left. Rangiku nearly screamed in triumph and happiness for her friend. Math was long forgotten as she spent the rest of the lesson teasing and trying to find out more of what happened last night.

"And what about you- isn't it time you got some?" Toshiro shot back, face burning with the choice of topic, trying to regain the upper hand in the conversation. At the question, Rangiku's laugh died in her throat along with the teasing gleam in her eyes.

"No." She said. Hands twisting the fabric of her skirt. "It's… It's too soon. I don't think… I can't..."

"You know there are other people who'll treat you right. Everyone isn't like him, you know."

"I know… But it sure seems that way sometimes."

Toshiro had nothing to say to that. There was nothing he could possibly say to Rangiku at this moment to change her mind given her past relationships. Which had all ended in a broken heart. In the quests to mend her broken heart, which he'd sat through countless times passing her the obligatory tissues and boxes of chocolates as she'd sobbed into his shoulder whilst patting her back awkwardly, he wondered if she would ever learn to stop giving her heart away in full. There was no one he knew that could guarantee to take her heart without leaving so much as a scratch. To be honest, he didn't even know how much glue and scotch tape was left to mend her heart if she broke it again.

"It's fine. I'm not interested in dating at the moment anyway." Rangiku said determinedly pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. She looked down at her paper which she'd doodled full of cats without realising. She stuffed the paper in her bag.

"What do you have next?" She asked as the bell rang signalling the end of class.

"Last period of the day." Toshiro grinned. "I'm going to see Momo now, I think."

"Oh yeah that's right. You have afternoons off every Friday don't you." Rangiku remembered, tapping her full lip thoughtfully.

"Exactly. The only time I get to see Momo without you cockblocking us." Toshiro teased. In truth, neither Momo nor Toshiro minded Rangiku's presence. Ever since her last break up they'd been mindful of their fragile friend.

Rangiku just laughed. She knew she was spending too much time with the happy couple lately. But she couldn't help herself. She was addicted to the bubbly happiness the pair created effortless and deep down she tortured herself with the image of perfect young love that she seemingly never had or could ever achieve. Not that she'd ever tell Toshiro that.

"I'll just head for English then." Rangiku said, "Have fun with Momo."

"Not skipping today?"

"Nah. I made a few New Years Resolutions." Rangiku smiled to herself.

"Yeah, let's see how long those will last." Toshiro snorted and answered his phone that suddenly started ringing.

Rangiku quickly waved goodbye and walked to her next class.

The next ninety minutes were spent with Rangiku outlining her essay for class whilst trying to block out the chat of her classmates that consisted entirely of boys, relationships and going out which led to the topic of one night stands. Topics she used to be in the thick of, gossiping about anything and everything. But things had changed now, she couldn't muster the strength to join in the conversation, without experiencing stinging memories from her latest break up. She hoped that she wouldn't be asked anything-

"And what about you, Matsumoto? Where's your lover boy?" An obnoxiously sweet voice questioned her.

Rangiku pulled her mind back with difficulty to deal with the girl and question.

"What do you mean, Riruka?"

"You know, your dreamy eyed lover you've been seeing for the past, I don't know, half a year?" Riruka rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"I'm not seeing him anymore." Rangiku said with a tight smile and turned back to her work pointedly.

"Oh, it didn't work out?" Riruka cooed, refusing to let her prey go that easily.

"It didn't." Rangiku agreed easily not looking up. She wouldn't give up the private details away that easily, and definitely not to the biggest gossip monger on campus.

"That's a shame then." Riruka said disappointedly. Disappointed at the unresponsive Rangiku rather than her failed relationship. She turned back to whisper amongst her friends and no more prying questions reached Rangiku's ears.

Class ended and with no time at all, Rangiku had packed eager to leave the gossiping girls and campus in general. She yawned. How she managed eight classes during high school everyday, she had no idea. Tomorrow was… Saturday, which meant doing absolutely no homework and relaxing to the maximum. She grinned, she could buy a bottle of wine to go with dinner tonight. Her roommate and herself often drank on friday nights, just to celebrate getting through the week. Well actually, it was more Rangiku celebrating getting through the week while Nanao toasted her accomplishment with a glass of wine. Besides, she hadn't skipped all week, it was a start compared to last term when she had blown off over fifty percent of her classes effectively failing her seminars and electives thus losing credits. She had to work hard this term or else she would never graduate, and god knows Rangiku was tired of assignments and essays. A bottle of wine would definitely do her some good- plus it was good motivation.

On the way home she stopped by the store to purchase a bottle of cheap wine and a block of cheddar. Waiting patiently in line at the cash register, she noticed a young couple her age, cuddling in front of her. They were stealing kisses pretending to be subtle, giggling in their protective bubble of love. Rangiku just stared. She knew she shouldn't but she couldn't help it. Could it be that the girl's hair was a little, fuller? A little, shinier? Maybe her smile was just slightly bigger. Her cheeks were radiant as her eyes sparkled for none other than the boy standing behind her, hands on her waist protectively as he bent down to kiss her hair again.

Her grip tightened on the wine bottle and she forced herself to look away. Funny how when you're single it seemed like everyone else was paired up like penguins. But when you're in a relationship...when you're in that golden period where no one exists but you and your significant other, it's like the world slips by quietly making room for the feelings of affection that draw two people in closer. It's like you can get away with anything as long as you're with that person… Rangiku shook her head again to clear her thoughts. She wouldn't think of what she had with him. It was over, and it was going to stay over.

She paid for the wine and cheese and headed back to her small apartment. The cold January nights had become even colder, her scarf was doing nothing to keep out the chill. She breathed out puffs of white air and with numb fingers she fumbled around her pocket for her keys.

"Nanao! I'm home!" She yelled up the stairs as she kicked off her boots.

The rich warm smell of homemade tomato sauce wafted out and immediately made her mouth water.

"Hey Rangiku!" A small face popped up by the bannister waving at her. Momo Hinamori clattered down the stairs taking the bottle of wine and cheese from her friend after giving her a quick hug.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Rangiku asked as they climbed the stairs together to get to the kitchen.

"Yeah, Nanao invited us."

"Us?"

"Toshiro's here as well. I hope you don't mind." Momo smiled apologetically.

"Of course not, the more the merrier." Rangiku said cheerfully, making her way into the kitchen seeing Toshiro chopping up a salad and Nanao watching the sauce on the stove with a critical eye. She giggled at the matching aprons.

"I brought wine!" She announced cheerfully.

The night was spent eating endless plates of homemade pasta heaped with cheese, and between the four of them they had managed to drink through three bottles of red wine. It was a warm atmosphere. The small apartment was filled with laughter and jokes as the hours passed. The warmth from the stove and friendship was enough to forget that it was still a cold winter's night outside. They ate and drank and drank some more. Some time after dinner, someone decided to break out the playing cards and they all sat up till late, scattering cards and jokes. Rangiku didn't know when she fell asleep, but when she did, she knew she'd fallen asleep on a full stomach and a head full of happy thoughts.

* * *

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Attempting a multific after a long hiatus of something like 2 years. A slow start and introduction...and who even reads these..

* * *

_x_

_1. Will lose 3 kilos by the end of June. (need that pretty bikini for summer)_

_2. Will stop drinking. (wine doesn't count- just grape juice)_

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky._

_4. Will not fall in love again. Ever._

_x_

_Chapter 2_

_x_

The sky was threatening rain the next morning when Rangiku woke up, but that didn't stop her from getting her daily fix of caffeine at the coffee shop. She inhaled the damp air, smelling the rain in the atmosphere. A bell rang gently as she pushed open the door, there were only a few occupants this morning.

She settled down in her usual chair next to the window and opened up her tabloid paper, heading straight for the gossip column. When she lifted her hand to turn the page, she noticed the man sitting by the table in front of her, looking towards her direction, head propped on one hand. She raised a brief eyebrow and turned back to her paper, ignoring him adamantly. Besides he probably wasn't looking at HER exactly, he was just...observing the white walls behind her.

But when she'd turned five pages and he'd still been looking at her, Rangiku cleared her throat and put the paper down, unable to ignore the stares.

"Can I help you with anything?" She asked curtly, folding the tabloid in half and resting her hands on top expectantly.

The man sighed and switched hands he was using to prop his head up. He took a few moments before answering.

"No, no… well yes." The man said thoughtfully. Rangiku just looked on, unamused.

"I was wondering why you were looking so sad." The man, offered her a large grin. Which would have been creepy but Rangiku couldn't help but soften at the expression which seemed genuine and benign. His statement had surprised her, had her unhappiness been that obvious? The man couldn't have been more than twenty five at most, with light silvery coloured hair and eyes that seemed to be in a constant state of slitted mirth. He had slightly vulpine features- nose ending in a sharp angle and a thin face, but he did have a gorgeous smile...

Rangiku slapped herself mentally. This was exactly the kind of thoughts that got her hurt in the first place. She would not fall for a stranger three minutes after meeting him. It was one thing to be missing somebody, but it was quite another to fall for just anybody just because she'd been lacking attention lately. Immediately she put on her strictest face and said,

"I'm not sad, what gave you that impression? Besides, I'm perfectly happy sitting here," She motioned to herself and the table, "Drinking my coffee and reading my paper." She huffed.

"If you say so." The man said, hand still propping his head up, still looking at her.

"I do." She bit back, hoping that the man would be put off by what she thought was an intimidating expression. He surprised her again by chuckling at her. She stared at him, something clicking into place.

"Wait a second, aren't you the person who smiled at me yesterday?"

"Well remembered." His smile widened. "Weren't you eating a croissant yesterday?"

She indeed was. Rangiku raised her eyebrows, starting to see the silver haired man in a new light. After a fresh cup of coffee and a series of inquisitive yet inane questions later, Rangiku sat back in her chair observing the silver haired man in front of her.

It turned out that he had just graduated and was currently looking for a job. He was living on his own and was hoping to find a roommate to the split the rent with, but so far it didn't seem like coexisting with a pet snake was appealing to most people.

"You have a snake?" Rangiku wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"A real beauty she is." He said letting out an appreciative breath, "Wha' t'about you? Any pets?"

"I can't really afford a pet," She admitted, she'd always wanted a grey american short hair. Rangiku liked dogs too, but cats just appealed to her nature more. "I used to have a hamster growing up though."

"Rodents die quickly dun they."

"This one died a premature death." Rangiku's eyes darkened with the memory.

"Go on." He chuckled appreciatively, anticipating the anecdote.

"There isn't much to tell, I was about nine when my mother was cleaning the house. I think I'd been playing with Pipsqueak, that was his name, but he ran away once I put him on the floor. All I remember is my mother coming up to me telling me that she'd broken the vacuum cleaner by sucking up something larger than a dust ball. Anyway, we later put two and two together and well… you know. I don't think I was ever allowed a pet after that. We had fish at some point, but the large fish started eating the other fish so, let's just say I've had an unfortunate history with animals." She finished glumly.

"I don't blame your parents, I wouldn't trust you with a cactus." He said drily.

Rangiku would have taken offence, but she just couldn't muster any ill feelings at a face that was adorned with such a beguiling, lopsided grin.

"Funny story actually, I used to have a cactus…"

"You didn't!"

"I did. I forgot to water it."

"Ya're unbelievable." The silver head laughed openly at last, unable to contain the peals of laughter he'd been holding in. Rangiku blushed, he had such a nice full laugh that tickled her ears and resonated deep within her chest. She liked the way he tipped his head back, the way his shoulders jumped appreciatively with every exhale of mirth. Would it be too cliche to say she wanted to make him laugh again…?

Rangiku caught herself smiling at the thought and immediately pinched herself painfully, discreetly under the table. She needed to stop her train of thought before it would be hurtling into dangerous territory. The pain brought her back to her senses and the light feelings that had been pleasantly swirling through her thoughts were blasted to nothing like snow in a furnace. Replacing her look with a more severe one, she coughed a little to bring some reality into her fabricated world of wishes.

She noticed the time and was taken aback. The sky was starting to darken and street lamps were starting to flicker to life. She checked her phone, they'd been talking for almost 3 hours consecutively. People were on the street and umbrellas were blossoming like strange coloured flowers. It was starting to rain harder and harder with every second. She hesitated, the coffee shop was so warm and she didn't really enjoy the idea of running of in the cold onslaught of water, made even colder by the season and the fact that the sun had now dipped behind the horizon completely, leaving only artificial lighting behind. But she had to get home, it was her turn to cook dinner tonight.

"Goin' home?"

"Yes… I suppose I am." Rangiku couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh. She started wrapping her scarf around her neck and shrugging on her jacket. Rangiku found herself feeling rather reluctant to leave and end the conversation, although she knew deep inside that the longer she stayed the more she'd struggle to keep her head above water when she started drowning in unnecessary feelings. She heard a chair scrape back as well.

"I guess I'd better get goin' as well. T'was nice meeting ya." He grinned at her, umbrella and jacket draped over his free hand as he held the door open for her. Good to see chivalry hadn't died out just yet. The rain dripped down unforgivingly, and wet splashes sounded as people jostled by on the pavement outside the shop. Her breath came out in short white puffs as she steadied herself to run. She smiled and nodded her goodbye before taking off at a quick pace, clutching her scarf to her chest to make sure it wouldn't expose her neck to the harsh elements.

As her boots tapped rapidly against the pavement, Rangiku suddenly felt something pull at her bag, jerking her back and weighing it down, as she squeezed past two women with absurdly large umbrellas. She turned around to see who had bumped into her so unceremoniously. She checked her bag to see that nothing had been stolen when she noticed the curve of a wooden handle hooked at the edge of her bag. Upon inspecting it further, she noticed it was a dark green umbrella that had looked oddly familiar. Her head shot up in time to see a damp silver head disappear and retreat into the busy street.

"Wait-!" She exclaimed, but it was no use. She was going against the tide of impatient commuters eager to get out of the damp weather, and he was nowhere to be found. Rangiku looked down at the umbrella feeling the beginnings of a smile tug at the corners of her lips.

"Silly…" She mumbled and she opened the umbrella with defeated reluctance. Something tugged at her heartstrings. She slowed down, the need to hurry lessened by the dry refuge she'd just received. The handle warmed to her touch and rested the metal spine against her neck.

Rangiku realised, that the entire time they'd been talking, she never got his name.

* * *

"Whose umbrella is that?" Nanao asked curiously as she walked into the kitchen, embraced by the raw, briny smell of seafood. She wrinkled her nose, despite loving seafood, she could never get used to the raw, bloody smell of the things.

"What? Oh… that." Rangiku suppressed a smile at the memory of the afternoon.

"It looks like a man's umbrella." Nanao said suspiciously, carefully folding her scarf to dry on the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

"..." Rangiku just blushed, even though she really honestly had no idea why she was, it was just a damn umbrella for goodness sake. She turned back to the lemons she'd been chopping up, in an effort to regain some of her composure that had been shattered to pieces when she'd got home, fully processing the act of kindness that she'd experienced this afternoon.

"Oh my God," Nanao exclaimed, (Nanao rarely exclaimed) "What happened? And don't leave anything out."

Rangiku pursed her lips, she didn't know whether to spill the details over her encounter or whether to preserve the memory. God, she didn't even know how she felt about the entire spectacle. She wanted to squash the tiny insistent tugs of feelings that were starting to creep up on her heart, if she spent any more time dwelling on the peculiar silver haired man, the tugs were going to turn into yanks, and that was going to hurt.

But when Nanao flashed her a look over the rim of her glasses in a severe, I'm-not-taking-your-bullshit sort of way, Rangiku relented and started to recount her day.

"... And you don't even know his name." Nanao said drily, hand propping up her face in a position much like fox-face had been assuming earlier.

"Nope," Rangiku replied glumly. "I wish I did though."

"But still. How can you go three hours without knowing someone's name?" Nanao asked again, incredulous.

"I honestly have no idea. I was so wrapped up in the conversation, I guess the opportunity never arose? It's like," Rangiku tried to explain herself with coherence one more, "You know when you connect with someone, you don't need to explain anything because you just don't need to?"

Her conversational partner just looked at her blankly.

"I wouldn't know, but I can vaguely see it theoretically, I suppose. When are you going to give the umbrella back to him?"

"Again, I don't know… I don't think he's a regular, I never see him around."

"Maybe you just need to open your eyes up more." Nanao teased a little.

"I'll go back to the coffee shop tomorrow and see if he's around." She decided. Her heart gave an involuntary leap at the brief thought of meeting her silver haired stranger. She clenched her fist, getting tired of dealing with her fickle heart. She was just going to return the umbrella. Maybe say thanks, but that's it. She wasn't going to expect anything out of the encounter because there was nothing TO expect. She was just going to return an umbrella...

"Anyway, shall we eat? I'm getting pretty hungry- class was so tiring." Nanao stretched, tipping her head back to close her eyes.

Rangiku stood up immediately and headed over to the counter top where she'd left the lemons and seafood half prepared.

"Been awhile since I heard you've been tired from class." Rangiku smirked. "You just sit back and have some wine or something. I'm trying a new recipe I found over the internet the other day." She rolled up her sleeves and concentrated on cutting the calamari into rings.

"You and your internet recipes." Nanao yawned, hand covering her mouth delicately.

A roasting pan was soon filled with mussels, prawns, calamari rings, scallops, sliced potatoes and onions and was drizzled liberally with white wine and olive oil. After wedging in the sliced lemons, Rangiku finally put the roasting pan into the pre-heated oven. She liked this recipe a lot, as soon as she'd read it she realised she could make a filling dinner with minimal to wash up and with no effort whatsoever. Excellent, two birds with one stone. A recipe that was maximum satisfaction and pure laziness. She'd definitely be preparing this again soon. She mentally thanked Nigella Lawson for the sheer genius that was this dish.

After the filling meal, Nanao had curled up on the couch reading a novel whilst keeping the tv on as background noise. The romantic comedy that was playing only captivated half of Rangiku's attention as she dipped her hand into the bag of chocolate she was consuming. She put one in her mouth absentmindedly, as she watched the couple on flirt according to a script. She couldn't help but think of the nameless man she'd met today. Her heart beat quickened and she quickly excused herself, retiring for the night.

Rangiku carefully shut the door to her bedroom, but once it was closed she flung herself onto her bed, clutching a pillow to her mouth to stifle the squeals of feminine happiness. Her heart had been tickled to submission this afternoon. So, she hadn't had received any attention lately, but whatever the silver haired man's intention toward her, she had to admit that if he was this sweet as a platonic friend, she couldn't help but wonder what he was like as a lover.

A lover…

At the thought, her smile died on her lips. Love… though it tended to highlight and radiate the best qualities in a person, it also had a habit of bringing out the worst in a person. Rangiku shut her eyes briefly. Jealousy, anger, bitterness… extreme possessiveness, irrational behaviour and heartaches that followed every argument.

It was just an umbrella. He was just being kind. But why, why was it that deep down she'd hoped it meant something more?

* * *

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Attempting a multific after a long hiatus of something like 2 years. A slow start and introduction...and who even reads these..

* * *

_x_

_1. Will lose 3 kilos by the end of June. (need that pretty bikini for summer)_

_2. Will stop drinking. (wine doesn't count- just grape juice)_

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky._

_4. Will not fall in love again. Ever._

_x_

_Chapter 3_

_x_

Rangiku paced outside the closed coffee shop anxiously. She tried to still her wandering feet, but the nervous habit had a way of bubbling to the surface regardless. It was a bright sunny day and she felt a little self conscious holding the umbrella, she had already received five strange looks on the way over. Her tongue flicked out to lick her lips nervously, taking away some of the gloss that she had painted over them this morning. She cursed, forgetting that fact and hurriedly dipped into her bag to reapply.

Rangiku had a fitful night's sleep. She'd dreamt of nonsensical things, scenes that were sequenced into disturbingly ordinary life matters. Those dreams scared her the most because sometimes she would wake up unable to distinguish truth from abstracted reality. She'd be lying if she said that a certain head of silver didn't appear in her sequence of dreams once...or twice.

She'd stopped trying to think that morning as she pawed through her closet, suddenly distressed at the fact that she couldn't find anything worth wearing. What she hadn't realised was that for the first time in a long time, she was looking through her closest with a desire to dress to impress. Though she'd never admit who she was trying to impress, even if she knew it herself. All Rangiku knew was that none of the clothes fit the person she was trying to be today.

Of all days to have a clothing crisis, she grumbled to herself. She walked into the laundry room quietly and picked a sweater that had been drying on the rack, pulling it over her head. After a quick bite of bread she folded up a certain umbrella and made her way down to the coffee shop.

Rangiku paced outside the closed shop anxiously. Her heart was beating hard against her chest. She suddenly felt very, very silly. Maybe she should have come later in the day. Was she actually going to wait through the open hours just to return an umbrella to a stranger? Perhaps she should have waited till the afternoon to return his umbrella. Rangiku let out a small whine at her indecisiveness and turned to go when-

"Good morning, Rangiku san!" A bright, cheery voice stopped her.

A shocking head of green walked up to her.

"What brings you here so early?" The coffee shop owner asked amicably, twisting the key into the lock.

"Morning, Nel san. I… I was, hoping for an early cup?" Rangiku shrugged unconvincingly, gripping the umbrella tighter to her side. Neliel gave her an odd look before smiling at her mischieviously. It seemed that Neliel hadn't bought her answer at all.

"Come in, it'll be a bit before the shop's opening hours, but I'll let you have an early cup anyway." She winked and opened the door to the shop, bell tinkling pleasantly.

The quaint little shop looked and felt so different when it's patrons were absent. The lights were off, but enough sunlight poured in through the windows to give it a warming glow and atmosphere. Rangiku lingered by the counter and watched as Neliel started flicking and turning on buttons to get the coffee going.

"So why don't you tell me the real reason why you're here, looks like you were getting pretty chatty with that guy yesterday." Neliel straightened up, leaning towards Rangiku with a knowing look whilst waving a pain au chocolat around.

Rangiku blushed and let out an immense sigh, but she wasn't going to hide or try to deny the fact.

"I was… wondering if you could tell me more about him actually." The blush on her cheeks stained further, "I mean, I'm just curious cause I don't think I've seen him around here at all." She said in a rush, trying not to seem like she was digging around for information when she really was.

"I knew it! I knew there was a reason you were waiting outside the coffee shop this morning. I mean, I know you always come in the morning, but never this early." She handed Rangiku the pastry she'd been waving about enthusiastically as a reward for her confession and continued, "Hmm the silver haired man... he's a regular actually. I remember him clearly because he's one of the few customers who orders tea instead of coffee." Nel said, tapping her lip thoughtfully.

"He's a regular? Really? I haven't seen him around though."

"He comes in the afternoons mainly, I was surprised to see him come in yesterday in the morning- and the day before that too actually! He usually doesn't do that. I mean he doesn't exactly look like a morning bird does he?"

"I suppose not...Do you," Rangiku swallowed, heart beating hard at what she was going to say next. "Do you know his name?"

Nel wrinkled her delicate features and shook her head. A curious feeling of disappointment weighed down on Rangiku and it must have shown.

"Want me to ask for you?" Nel winked cheekily. Rangiku blushed hard and shook her head.

"I'm just going to wait … see if he comes, you know, that sort of thing." She edged toward her regular place near the window, smiling nervously at the thought of meeting him again. Nel just shrugged and turned to face the steadily warming up coffee shop.

And wait she did. She waited all morning, going through cups and cups of coffee. She sat and shredded a napkin. Perhaps she should wait another minute longer. No, she'd been waiting for far too long already. It was already close to six and her meal had long gone cold and untouched. She traced the edge of her coffee cup with a trembling finger, swallowing the humiliation and tears. Nel looked over at her for the umpteenth time, with a look of pity and this time she tucked the cash under the cup and silently left the coffee shop feeling the burn of curious stares singe her neck hairs, eyes wondered who was so special that the girl would spend a whole day idling at a coffee shop.

Typical. When was the last time she hadn't been hurt when she put faith in somebody? Well, it's not like he could have known you were coming, she argued with herself. Rangiku was typically a calm and clear headed person, but when it came to the affairs of the heart she couldn't help but feel like she was tossed around like a rag doll by her feelings. They say the harder you love, the harder it hurts. She hated the way she got irrationally angry at little things when they didn't work out the way she thought they would. What were you even expecting, she thought bitterly. Were you expecting some fabled romance, to be swept off your feet or something? She pursed her lips and let out a small wry laugh. Goddammit, her masochistic heart was going to be the death of her. Her throat burned with the desire to drink something 15% stronger than wine.

She'd rather die of cirrhosis of the liver than endure yet another crumbling heart ache.

She gripped the handle of the umbrella glaring at it noxiously. She hated the way the smooth wooden handle gleamed a rich, dark mahogany. She'd almost feel better if the handle was dirty, worn and marred with scratches (just like her heart). The intensity of her glare amplified as if she could burn the umbrella by just hating what it stood for and represented.

"Stupid fucking umbrella! I just wasted 8 hours for god knows-"

"My my."

Rangiku froze at the sound, hands stilling on the umbrella she had literally been about to snap in half. This familiar, lilting voice, it honestly couldn't be- these coincidences only happened in films. Romantic COMEDY films that served no purpose but to lure people into thinking love had a happy ending. She scoffed, there was no such thing as a happy ending. What bullshit.

"If it isn't my umbrella and the pretty lady I met yesterday. We jus' keep meetin', don' we? "

She turned around to meet a grinning face and slitted eyes.

"Do you even know how ridiculous you sound sometimes?" She grumbled, cheeks heating up with the compliment. Her voice was still tinged with the lingering feeling of frustration that had been building up over the course of the day.

"What are you even doing here?"

"Jus' on my way home. I had to take my snake to the vet." He tipped his hat, grin widening further. "What about you? Were you at tha' coffee shop again?"

"N-no!" Rangiku denied furiously, cheeks betraying her. She remembered her wits and quickly shoved the dark green umbrella into his arms. As if she'd be caught with the fact that she'd wasted an entire day doing nothing but waiting. Fairy tales said that princesses waited hundreds of years for a knight in shining armour but that was ridiculous, because he was hardly her knight in shining armour and she was hardly a princess. She turned quickly to make her quick getaway, before she totally lost every piece of sanity she had left.

A smooth hand caught her slim wrist, effectively hindering her escape.

"What." She puffed out belligerently.

"I haven't properly thanked and introduced m'self. Gin, Gin Ichimaru. Thank you for returning my umbrella." His grip loosened around her wrist but it didn't let go yet. She turned to meet him and noticed for the first time that he was looking at her, looking at her with piercingly blue eyes that she could discern even with the haze of night approaching.

The breath that caught in Rangiku's throat went unnoticed. She was too captivated by the startling clearness of the cyan blue that hid beneath a limpid eyelids. She had the sudden urge to cup his jaw in place to press her head against his, just to get a closer look at the vivid colour. She honestly didn't know what eye colour to expect from him, but she found that she was pleasantly surprised.

"I'm…Rangiku Matsumoto… and it was no bother." She flushed when she realised she'd been staring longer than was socially acceptable. She hoped he didn't think she was as stupid as felt right at this precise moment in time. She cringed at her choice of words as well, what was with the sudden exchange of pleasantries? It felt so prim and stiff necked, she felt like pulling at the invisible collar of manners that had suddenly clamped down on her throat. She disliked the feeling. She pulled her wrist a little, an indication she wanted him to let go. He did so, but as he did he trailed his fingertips gently across her palm. The action was so smooth, gentle and quick she only felt a slight brush before there was nothing at all. The only acknowledgement of the slight movement was her elevated heartbeat that had registered what the action was before her brain did.

"Are ya free tomorrow?" Gin asked suddenly.

Rangiku raised a suspicious eyebrow, cheeks tinting pink from his brief, soft touch. Was he asking her out? In that case, the answer was going to be a flat out "no" no matter what. Her lip curled, her heart twisting in conflict.

"No, sorry," She smiled in spite of herself, "I think I'm going to be pretty expensive." Now she was laughing as she walked away quickly, almost skipping- heart beating at the fact that he'd asked her out and for once she'd had the courage to say no to what she wanted. Well, she didn't directly say no… but it would have to do. Little steps.

To be in denial was to be in exhilaration.

Gin chuckled at the retreating figure, long strawberry blonde hair sweeping and swinging down a back that was now standing straighter.

What a girl.

* * *

TBC

(To be re-written)


	4. Chapter 4

Attempting a multific after a long hiatus of something like 2 years. A slow start and introduction...and who even reads these..

* * *

_x_

_1. Will lose 3 kilos by the end of June. (need that pretty bikini for summer)_

_2. Will stop drinking. (wine doesn't count- it's basically just grape juice)_

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky._

_4. Will not fall in love again. Ever._

_x_

_Chapter 4_

_x_

"So wha' excuse is it going ta be this time?" Ichimaru's mouth twitched in amusement.

It had been a week since Rangiku had given Gin his umbrella back and somehow every morning since, he'd just happened to be there to ambush her before class with the same question, to which she replied with varying answers but essentially all were a form of rejection.

Rangiku let out a theatrical sigh, head tipping forward, allowing her hair to curl alluringly around her shoulders and face.

In all honesty, she was flattered that someone had taken an interest in her. She was grateful for the attention. The harmless flirting was doing her some good, the empty days seem to pass faster and she found herself waking up each morning with motivation. Something which she hadn't experienced in a long time. She often sat in class daydreaming about her next response to the inquisitive, teasing fox face. She liked giving him witty replies which he laughed at. She liked the teasing atmosphere they built together over one simple question, it was light hearted and friendly and he genuinely seemed like hearing about what she had to say. She also appreciated the fact that his eyes never flicked down to her voluminous chest, no matter what top she wore, he didn't even so much bat an eyelid. That in itself, told Rangiku a lot about the kind of person Ichimaru was. Rangiku knew that she should cut the teasing and just tell him flat out that she wasn't interested. But somehow, she couldn't summon the words or the courage to tell him each time.

And deep down inside she knew she'd be lying to herself if she said she wasn't interested.

So...tempting.

Rangiku cleared her throat, focusing on the silver head sitting in front of her. She beckoned him with a finger to put his head closer so she could whisper to him.

"Shall I tell you a secret?" She said in a breathless undertone.

He nodded.

"I'm… getting betrothed to some rich prince of some random country overflowing with oil and I'm pregnant with little royal fetuses. Guess I should have told you sooner, right?" She pulled away and let out a hum of fake disappointment, batting her eyelids in an exaggerated manner. "He doesn't like me talking to other men, he's the super jealous and possessive type so you better watch out or you might lose a limb or two."

Ichimaru's face didn't change, his smile ever present.

"I guess I can't win against some prince. But I'm pretty sure tha' an imaginary one ain't much trouble." He winked.

"Excuse you. My prince is real and even if he wasn't, no one could possibly replace the ideal prince." Rangiku suddenly flushed, her words had come out more dismissive than she'd meant them to. But Ichimaru didn't seem to notice or care. On the contrary, he leaned in closer, so close that she feel the flicker of breath tingle her lips… so close that she could see the flecks of dark silver in his irises under heavy lidded eyes. Her breath caught in her breath a little as he parted his mouth,

"I could."

"You're overrating yourself." She barely managed as he sat back.

"If ya have dinner with me tonight, maybe you could find out." Gin countered smoothly, unfazed by her words.

Rangiku just laughed.

"I have to go." She stood up to leave, bag in hand. Neither replying or denying Gin's statement.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll make ya say yes." Ichimaru called out after her retreating form, watching her as she pushed the door open.

The strawberry blonde paused, she couldn't help it.

"Really now, I'd like to see you try."

"I'll get a proper answer out of ya tomorrow, you won't be able to escape like ya always do."

"What do you mean?"

"Tomorrow's Saturday, sweetheart. Can't claim class as an excuse to run off and leave me hangin'." Gin informed her, his gaze intensifying.

Damn, he was right.

"We'll see about that." Rangiku walked out the door and daringly blew him a playful kiss through the window before running to catch her bus, heart racing and looking positively like the Cheshire Cat as she managed to board the bus just before it left without her.

* * *

"...Matsumoto. Matsumoto, are you even listening to me?"

"What?"

Toshiro sighed gustily, and pushed a lock of white hair from his face.

"I said, for the fifth time, have you done the homework for class?"

Rangiku's heart dropped and her face paled slightly. Trust Toshiro to bring her out of her happy mood with the topic of school work. She bent down and rummaged through her bag, hoping that by some magical force of nature that she'd done the homework without knowing and had placed it in her bag. But after thoroughly flipping through each folder, shaking out each notebook, she had to admit defeat and turn to the white head who had an exceptionally knowing look etched on his face.

Organising her features into look of pure submissiveness, she prepared to beg in her sweetest voice.

Toshiro held up a hand, the other waving a sheet of A4 with numbers written on it in neat handwriting.

"Please?" She wheedled.

"I seem to remember you telling me that you'd complete every single piece of homework for this class, after the New Year?" Toshiro held the paper out of reach as he watched Rangiku's hand inch towards the thing that would help her pass stats once and for all.

"I was drunk and it's just one slip up this term." She grumbled as she nearly fell off her chair in her effort to yank the piece of paper which was just out of reach due to the fact that Toshiro was leaning back as far as physics allowed him to without toppling over.

"You were actually very sober and once you get into your lazy habits you never grow out of them." He corrected her, but he relented and grudgingly slid the paper across the desk to which she seized eagerly and began copying down his answers.

"There's no point in just copying down the answers. You have to understand the formula and how each equation works, that's how you learn. Otherwise that's just a bunch of useless numbers." Toshiro lectured, watching Rangiku hastily copy down his work in her trademark loopy handwriting.

"Yeah, but they're all correct aren't they?" She looked up for a brief second.

"That's not the point!" He hissed as the professor walked into the room and began to start the class.

Rangiku promised that she'd pay more attention in class as one of her New Year's Resolutions, but how could she even possible try to concentrate when all she could think about was how she would refuse a certain fox-face tomorrow. Her heartbeat increased as she relived the memory of the way he'd leant in close to her face, they had been so close that it wouldn't have been hard to seal the small distance between them with their mouths. She could practically feel the light puffs of air that ghosted across her lips and cheeks as he whispered how he was better than the man of her dreams.

On one hand her brain scoffed at the idea, Gin was being cheesy as fuck and no one could achieve perfection. No one could possibly be the ideal man but at the same time she hoped that he was. She wondered if he was. She wanted to see if he was. Too bad her heart was still feeling the aftershocks of what it was like to be used and abused.

Would she really be able to refuse him tomorrow with thoughts like these running rampant in her head?

She lay her head in the cradle of her arms.

"Poke me and I'll end you." She murmured through the corner of her mouth.

"Who said I was going to poke you anyway?" Toshiro said waspishly, prodding her with the end of his pencil anyway. She swatted his away hand half-heartedly and let out an involuntary sigh.

"That's the fourteenth sigh since class began."

"You counted?"

"Well it's hard not to when it sounds like Kansas 2.0 over here...Did anything happen?"

"No...not really." Not yet, she corrected herself in her head. It would all depend on tomorrow wouldn't it?

Toshiro raised a skeptical eyebrow, wondering whether to pursue the subject or not. He could tell by her pink cheeks and bright eyes, not to mention the amount of sighs she'd been emitting since she sat down that there was definitely a man involved in Rangiku's life right now. He wasn't the exactly the kind of guy who liked talking about love and relationships, but he grudgingly made allowances for close friends. He decided not to ask until she mentioned anything.

"If you say so."

* * *

"So what do you think I should do?" Rangiku wailed as she tore into some warm bread, licking the garlic and italian parsley off her fingers.

Nanao pushed her glasses up on her nose and contemplated her answer before replying.

They were both sitting cross legged on the floor leaning against the sofa, watching a nature documentary whilst eating pizza and garlic bread. Toshiro and Momo couldn't come over tonight because they had already made plans to watch a film at the local cinema together, but that was fine- the only person Rangiku wanted to confide into was Nanao who was the only person who knew what was happening between Rangiku and her silver haired stranger. She could always count on Nanao to give her a level headed answer.

By this point in time, she already knew what her answer would be, but she needed reassurance. She needed another opinion to help her justify her actions. She was only human, she was allowed to make mistakes right?

"Well," Nanao took a bite of the pizza slice that she had folded in half to avoid cheese drippage. "To be honest, I think you should think about this more carefully. You only just met the guy and Rangiku, you've never dated a stranger before. From past experiences, you only dated people who you became friends with first. I mean," she took another bite and swallowed, "I'm not saying you shouldn't date this man, you seem happier lately and you've actually done your share of the chores. I just don't want you to be hurt again from something that you could have prevented."

Rangiku stared at the slice of pizza in her hands. She couldn't help the disappoint that welled up in her at her friend's answer. It wasn't the answer she'd really been looking for. But perhaps Nanao was right, maybe it was too soon to be moving on to a new person. She wasn't sure that she could handle the overwhelming disappoint and regret after yet another painful mistake. Mistakes that she really ought to learn from.

"On the other hand, I suppose there's no harm in just seeing what one date is like. At least you can cut things short before you get into some really hot water. And I highly doubt you were actually going to stay away from him, even if I said anything." Nanao said bluntly. "I promise not to say 'I told you so' if anything happens."

Rangiku giggled at the latter part of her statement, she turned to Nanao but she was already engrossed in the film on the television, chewing through her pizza slice systematically.

She knew she wouldn't be able to stay away from him either. There was just something about Gin that drew her to him.

_I guess one date can't hurt, right?_

* * *

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Attempting a multific after a long hiatus of something like 2 years. A slow start and introduction...and who even reads these..

* * *

_x_

_1. Will lose 3 kilos by the end of June. (need that pretty bikini for summer)_

_2. Will stop drinking. (wine doesn't count- it's basically just grape juice)_

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky._

_4. Will not fall in love again. Ever._

_x_

_Chapter 5_

_x_

Rangiku woke up far earlier than her alarm was set to go off. She lay in bed quietly, hands laced behind her bed as the grey-blue light filtered in through her curtains. Judging from the colour gradient of natural light painted across her bedroom walls, she guessed it was something like 5:30. She enjoyed the still air of the night that was just about up by morning. Birds chirped and twittered distantly contrasting greatly with the heavy silence in her room.

Her heart thudded in her chest at a slow but steady pace. She thought about everything that was going to happen today...and everything that might happen tomorrow. Today was a day brimming with opportunity and the feeling of being so close to the unknown made her heart palpitate against her chest roughly. Rangiku rolled onto her side, tucking the covers under her chin as she faced the smooth, white walls of her bedroom. Not that she actually registered that the walls, there could have been a talking duck with miniature cymbals walking across her bedroom floor and she probably wouldn't have even blinked.

No, what was going through her mind were scenarios.

The kind of scenarios that girls imagine and discard, one after another- quick half a second snap shots of illicit imagination, possibilities and fantasies revolving around a certain someone...

After drifting in and out of consciousness, Rangiku finally got out of bed in a disorientated mess. Her head spun with the gravitational difference and she finally found her bearings. The light in her room was a more shining white now, reflecting off the walls brightly. She shielded her eyes as she pawed through her closet half blindly.

Reaching for a patterned belt and a flattering v-necked sweater she ambled into Nanao's room to steal a pleated skirt that she knew made her legs look long and attractive. Rangiku wasn't going to lie, she secretly liked the school girl look with untucked-unbuttoned collared shirts peeking out of cashmere v-necked sweaters, coupled with a mini skirt. She would have liked to add a tie but maybe that was too much.

Rangiku's room was fairly small, but it seemed even more cramped with the way there were clothing piles everywhere, accumulated throughout the week. People said her room was messy but she argued that it was organised- and who cares if it was messy if she knew how to navigate around her room? A dried out cactus sat on her window sill next to a small bowl of bobby pins and hair accessories. Her desk was a mess of papers and textbooks, the edge closest to her bed was scattered with lipsticks, various colours of nail polishes and a box that was positively dripping with necklaces and bracelets of all kinds.

Her room was messy, but she liked the homely atmosphere she'd created. What good was a bedroom unless it was personalised to taste?

"Do you want breakfast?" Nanao leaned against her doorframe, cup of coffee in one hand and morning paper in the other. Rangiku could hear the gurgle of the coffee maker from the kitchen and her stomach let out a small rumble. She could use some nourishment to calm her nerves before she went out today.

Pulling out a paint chipped ikea chair, she sat down and scanned the headlines for the day. More political disputes and countries in strife. Even pages 6 and 7 were filled with filthy, vicious gossip disguised under embellished vocabulary and subtle jibes at celebrity life. Negativity sells, she couldn't remember the last positive article she'd read in a newspaper. People had a perverse desire to read about other people's misfortune, perhaps because it made them feel better about themselves that they weren't the ones being targeted.

She absentmindedly tore off a piece of a bagel and popped it into her mouth, whilst reading about the upcoming events and shows that would be showing in her area during the weekend. Rangiku honestly tried to balance play time and work time, but former won out almost every single time. As a result her grades at school were beginning to tilt into dangerous territory. She wrinkled her nose as she planned a time in the day to study and do some homework. Perhaps she could call Toshiro and have him come over to help, she didn't like studying alone. Even if it was with her permanently disgruntled friend, she still found that studying was made bearable.

"Alright," Rangiku's heart started thumping anxiously. She'd avoided thinking about Ichimaru all morning before she turned into a gooey mess of anxiety, but now she couldn't ignore the feelings as time pressed against her. She gave in, embracing the nerves with a delicious shudder. It had been such a long time since she'd felt an overwhelming feeling of anticipation.

"I'm going to go, I may or may not be back for dinner."

"Ok, good luck." Nanao said barely looking up from the paper, lifting a hand in acknowledgement.

Rangiku closed the front door quietly, locking it carefully before taking a compulsory gulp of air to calm her thoughts and compose herself. She started walking down the well-walked route to the coffee shop. She was a little late compared to her usual schedule, but she didn't want to seem overly eager.

_Perseverance…_

She could make him wait a little and keep him on edge.

But when she opened the door, she couldn't help but let a smile break upon her face. He was sitting back to her at her usual table by the window, drumming his fingertips against the wooden surface, silver hair glinting in the sunlight. The shop was busy and the comfortable buzz of conversation filled the air as Nel took down orders as fast as she could.

Walking behind his chair softly, she rested her hands gently on his shoulders.

"Surprised to see me?"

She felt his shoulders tense only slightly, before he turned to face her- grinning like a cat who got the cream.

"Ya're a bit later than normal, aren't ya?" Ichimaru asked as she slid into the seat opposite him.

"Maybe, maybe not, I'm a very unpredictable woman- who knows when or where I'll show up next." She shrugged.

Gin's laugh reverberated in her chest.

"Ya're the most predictable woman I know." He told her not unkindly, she could only stick her tongue out at him childishly unable to deny his comment.

A nervous silence descended on the table as she could only sneak glances at her conversational partner. She fiddled with the hem of her skirt under the table as she waited for him to say something, to say the one thing that's been on her mind since almost 24 hours ago.

"Well...Aren't you going to ask me out?" She finally said, breaking the silence since Ichimaru had closed his mouth obstinately and was looking at her expectantly.

"Does this mean you'll say yes?" His grin widened.

"...It's just one date. Don't get your hopes up." She muttered, cheeks reddening a little bit.

"I will, don't worry. It'll only be an honour to have my heart broken by someone like you." He teased.

"Someone like me?" Rangiku raised her eyebrows.

"A breathtaking, beautiful, exquisite, charming, se-" Ichimaru listed rapidly, counting the traits off his long spindly fingers.

"Okay! Okay! I get the picture." She interjected, blushing hard, stopping his tirade. "I'm none of those things, by the way. Lying is an awful habit, you know."

"'M not lyin' though. I never lie."

"Don't be ridiculous, everyone lies. Are we going to sit here all day or did you actually have somewhere else in mind?" Rangiku said flippantly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Are ya hungry?"

* * *

If there was one thing to be said about the world, it would have to be the way food brought people together. People bonded over meals together for some reason. The simple act of breaking bread was a tradition long established even before religion made it mandatory. Maybe it was the intimacy that came with relaxing and letting one's guard down as food was consumed, or maybe it was just an excuse to spend more time with someone. Either way, Rangiku found herself sprawled comfortably on a grassy slope of a nameless park.

Gin had suggested they drop by a supermarket and pick up a spread, when they both couldn't agree on what kind of food they wanted to eat.

They'd bought french bread studded with onion and garlic and interesting flavoured hummus spreads, vegetable sticks (Rangiku wanted to give off the impression of being healthy) slices of cold meats, olives, and lots of other small finger foods which they'd been snacking on since they arrived.

"Do you come here often?" Rangiku asked as she popped an olive in her mouth.

"This park? Often enough. D'you like it?" Gin looked at her from the corner of his eye, as he leaned back on his elbows, lanky legs crossed at the ankles.

Rangiku looked around, it was a quiet park, lots of trees and there was an artificial brook that flowed into a pond. Despite it being a Saturday, there wasn't that many people out today.

"It's a nice park." She admitted, "I thought there would be more people though, seeing how clean and well kept it is."

"Ah, ya know why there aren't that many people?" Gin asked, leaning towards her conspiratorily.

"Why?"

"Because," He grinned, pausing for dramatic effect. "Because the park is haunted."

Rangiku snorted and pushed him away lightly.

"Don't be ridiculous, and you tell me you don't lie." She laughed.

"Wha' it's true!" Ichimaru protested, "A kid died here a couple o' years ago, committed suicide in tha' pond righ' there 'cept, no one could find the body. The only thing they could find were his shoes and his note."

"Maybe he left his shoes by the pond, big deal- that's still not enough evidence to prove he's actually dead though." Rangiku hunted through the plastic bags. "I thought we bought some chocolate?"

"Rumour has it that if ya're here late at night, you can hear the howls of the 12 year old searchin' for his shoes." Ichimaru said, trying to put on his best creepy voice. "They say tha' people who spend longer than 5 hours in the park end up with missin' shoes."

"So the kid has a shoe fetish, besides there is no way I'd let some kid run off with my Louboutins- I paid half my soul for those. You, on the other hand," She pointed a sharp end of chocolate she'd broken off, "need to work on your ghost stories. It's sort of hard to scare me when the day looks this sunny."

Gin shrugged and reached over, intending to help himself to some of the chocolate in Rangiku's hands. She immediately slapped his hand and held the bar out of reach.

"You said you don't even like chocolate."

"I changed my mind."

"Well, you can't have any." Rangiku said crossly, munching on the sweets.

Ichimaru scooted over and looped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to his side.

"Please?" He rested his chin on her shoulder, "Or else I'll keep doing this." His pointed chin dug almost painfully into the soft flesh, making Rangiku yelp. She swatted his arm but when he didn't move she sighed.

"Here." She lifted a piece to his mouth, taking care not to let her fingers touch his lips. The plan backfired spectacularly when Gin's mouth enclosed over her fingertips completely, tongue brushing against them for the gentlest, briefest second. She froze with the motion, eyes going wide the awareness of what just happened

"Thanks." He murmured by her ear, sending a shiver down her back. If she tilted her face slightly to the left they'd be kissing. Was he going to kiss her? Her heart thudded in her chest. But before she could even make a move, he'd pulled back and was leaning on his elbows again looking up at the sky.

"Looks like rain." He commented lightly. "Seems ta always be rainin' when I'm with you."

Rangiku paused and looked up. He was right, the sun had gone and hid behind the clouds without her noticing and the clouds were swollen with moisture. The air which had been full of sunny warmth had been sapped away and replaced with the chill of the rain to come. Rangiku shivered and pulled her scarf closer to her neck.

"I guess I'm a walking talisman for bad luck then." She said jokingly, but privately, she sometimes did think that she was just some magnet for unfavourable circumstances with the amount of shit that had happened in her past.

Gin started compiling the remains of their lunch together and stood up, offering her a hand.

"I'll take ya home."

The first of the raindrops landed on her nose and she blinked. Taking his hand, Gin pulled her up with ease, catching her around the waist to steady her.

"Too bad I don't have an umbrella so tha' I'd have an excuse ta see you again. But this will hafta do." He shed his jacket and draped it around her before she could open her mouth to protest.

"Run." He said lacing their fingers together as the droplets turned to sheets of rain, the sound of water pattering across leaves and greenery, sky turning a definitive grey.

* * *

They were both rain soaked, as they stood panting lightly outside her front door. Rangiku was marginally drier, thanks to the heavy winter jacket that Gin had provided, compared to Ichimaru whose shirt was drenched, hair plastered to his face in wet strands. She imagined she didn't look much better with her strawberry blonde hair spilling out of scarf wetly. Rangiku could feel her feet going numb with the cold water and she suppressed a shiver. She was beginning to feel like a drowned rat.

"Do you…" She paused tentatively, unsure of her words, "Do you want to come up for a cup of tea?"

"Nah, not tha' I dun want to, but I'll save tha' treat for next time." He doffed an imaginary hat and smiled at her.

She blinked. She wasn't used to men turning her down. Rangiku hurried to take off his coat.

"Here-"

"Keep it- so I have an excuse ta see you again." Gin said softly, for a moment it looked like he was going to kiss her. It would have been the perfect opportunity, but he turned on heel and walked into the rain, waving at her briefly. Rangiku found herself feeling something akin to disappointment as she watched him walk down the road as easily as if it were nothing but a sunny day.

It took her a good ten minutes to realise that she was still standing out in the cold, watching the place where Gin had disappeared.

It took her even longer to remember that she'd forgotten to ask for his number again.

_Dammit. _

* * *

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Attempting a multific after a long hiatus of something like 2 years. A slow start and introduction...and who even reads these..

* * *

_x_

_1. Will lose 3 kilos by the end of June. (need that pretty bikini for summer)_

_2. Will stop drinking. (wine doesn't count- it's basically just grape juice)_

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky._

_4. Will not fall in love again. Ever._

_x_

_Chapter 6_

_x_

_"Hey, Rangiku. Rangiku." Someone was calling her. So many people were calling her and she tried to wave in acknowledgement but she couldn't feel a thing, her body felt heavy and disconnected. The room was hot and dark with gyrating bodies everywhere, a heavy rhythmic bass throbbing through her chest tempting her to dance to the beat. She felt someone push another plastic cup into her hand and she took an obligatory sip. She didn't even know what she was drinking anymore._

_Sweaty hands descended on her waist as she was pulled against a large chest. She tipped her head back, hooking an arm around his neck and closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to face her nameless partner. More hands were touching her, in places they wouldn't dare touch sober._

_The room was getting hotter, steamier with the influx of people. Time didn't matter here anymore, the later the better, the more livelier everyone was. She was taking shots at the bar with someone._

_This citrus-y aftertaste, tequila? It didn't matter, she smiled politely and promptly leaned over the edge of the bar, bitter liquid pouring from her mouth._

_Someone tugged on her arm roughly again and guided her outside, forcing her into a sitting position._

_Her head spun and she felt like her body was melting. Limbless, she didn't know how to sit down anymore, arms hanging by her sides limply. She felt her body convulse and in a moment she had her head between her knees. Someone gathered her hair behind her head as she emptied out her stomach without even blinking. Usually it hurt to throw up, but now she didn't feel anything, just the dull ache of her rib cage seizing up violently. Coughing slightly from the acidity, she glanced at the sick that splattered between her legs, not really caring that she'd gotten some on the tips of her glittery, six inch heels_

_"Is she ok?" She could hear someone asking._

_"She's fine, she always gets like this. You know that." A brusque, exasperated voice answered back. A few seconds later, a plastic cup filled with water was being pushed into her hands._

_"Drink."_

_"Toshiro?" She asked hazily, registering the trademark white hair. She clutched the cup at a dangerous angle, wrist going lax, watching the liquid begin to spill out the otherside. Toshiro growled and quickly straightened her hand, guiding it to her mouth._

_"Did you take anything tonight? Pills? Powder?"_

_She shook her head slowly._

_"Ok good. How much did you drink? Nevermind, I'm not even going to bother-" He stopped mid-sentence to catch Rangiku who was slowly tilting backwards, unable to support her own body weight._

_"I can't force the water down your throat, you have to drink it yourself."_

_"This... looks bad doesn't it?"_

_"...Just drink." Toshiro guided the cup back to her lips gently, urging her to sober up._

* * *

Rangiku growled in frustration. She could feel her temper rising in her throat. She slammed her pencil down and crossed her arms, sulking. She didn't understand the question, never mind answering the question. She wanted to call Toshiro but he wasn't picking up, Nanao was attending one of her finals and wouldn't be back till late night. It was just her alone in the apartment, trying to study for her stats exam that was coming up soon.

_Ok, calm down, just read the textbook slowly._ She told herself and pulled the book towards her once more.

Her phone buzzed, vibrating loudly against the wood of her desk and she jumped, concentration breaking again. She threw her maths textbook against the wall exasperatedly before answering the call.

"What." She snapped in annoyance.

_"Is this a bad time? I can call back later."_ A familiar lilting male voice questioned.

"Oh. It's you." Rangiku let out a deflated breath.

_"I'm beginnin' to feel real unwanted here."_ Gin's voiced teased,_ "What's wrong?"_

"Sorry, I'm just really stressed about maths homework." She sighed, balling a fist against her head, slumping down.

After their rainy first date, Rangiku finally remembered to ask for Gin's number and since then they'd been texting or calling each other almost day and night. Almost every single waking moment she'd spent, fingers glued to her phone and she'd fallen asleep, phone in hand. It was almost unnerving how easy it was to talk to him. He listened to every rant she had patiently, adding comments here and there, egging her on.

Of course she still saw him every morning when she went to go get coffee. It surprised her how they still didn't run out of things to talk about even when they were apart.

"_You seem busy, I can call back again later, if ya like?_" Gin offered.

"It's fine, what's up? Anything wrong?"

"_S'nothin', I was goin' to ask if you were free tomorrow night for dinner, but I guess ya're busy with school'n things right?"_

Rangiku hesitated. Though they had met almost everyday in the morning for coffee, they hadn't met anywhere else or made any other plans as such. She desperately wanted to know what the fox-face thought of her.

Beyond his ever present smile, she could hardly discern his thoughts. He kept up a rather sardonic view of the world, making light of politics and world issues with a cynical eye. With his humour leaning towards a satirical and black humourist background, Rangiku found herself often lost at his punchlines, only understanding the joke a few seconds later tipped off with the way Ichimaru's grin broadened just more than normal, laughing quietly at his own jokes. But oddly enough, she wasn't put off by his dry attitude. Their contrasting personalities complimented each other in a strange slap-stick mismatched way, that left her feeling comfortable in his presence.

Sure he liked her that was for certain, but for what it seemed or felt like, it was nothing more than platonic friendship at the moment. Was she even dating the guy? Was what they had between them what people considered 'more than friends'? After all, it had been only one "date" as per say. This was a golden opportunity to really find out what was going on between them.

"I can make time." She said trying not to sound overly eager. She scanned her nails boredly, as if he were actually watching.

"_I dun' want ta force you. School's important. We can always meet some other time. You should go do your work."_ His voice had a tone of firmness in it.

Rangiku sat up straighter, panicking a bit as she scrambled to find the words to persuade him to ask her out again, without asking him directly.

"I- W-wait!"

_"I'll text ya later ok? Go do your work, sweetheart."_ He laughed at her flusteredness on the other side of the receiver and hung up before she could even say another word.

"Dammit!" Rangiku cursed when the dial tone sounded. She glared at her phone wondering if he'd call her back and tell her he was joking. Her phone suddenly vibrated in her hand and she nearly dropped it.

_Go do your work!_

She nearly screamed.

But miracles of miracles she actually sat down, made some coherent notes and noticeable progress that when her phone sounded again it was almost close to dinner time. She'd managed to work solidly for three hours. Rangiku called it a day and finally closed the poor, abused textbook. Yawning, she checked her phone lazily.

_Managed to get some work done?_

She was about to reply when the doorbell sounded, indicating that someone was at the door. She sighed and dragged herself into the hallway. The bell sounded again.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" She grumbled. "God. Where's the fire?"

Rangiku turned the lock and opened the door only to be greeted with a face full of daffodils. She looked up and met a familiar grinning face.

"Told'ya I'd text you later."

"I- But, I thought you said we'd meet up another time." Rangiku stammered as she stared at the man standing in front of her.

"Forgive me if I say I couldn' stay away." And with that, as quick as a snake strikes prey, Gin kissed her. The kiss was so light and so brief she barely felt it, the only proof was the tingle of absent pressure and the lingering smell of his distinct cologne that invaded her personal space. She nearly sputtered, eyes widening in shock. This wasn't how she envisioned their first kiss! She opened her mouth to say something, but Gin's hands landed on her waist turning her around and marched her inside her own apartment.

"Hey!" She protested, only half struggling, clutching the bouquet of flowers to her chest as Gin sat her down in the kitchen.

"Surprise?" He shrugged half-heartedly, facing the still slightly shell shocked girl.

"You could have called ahead of time." Rangiku scolded, but when she turned to get up to find a vase for the flowers, she let a smile creep up onto her face.

"How did you know daffodils were my favourite flower?" She asked him, arranging the flowers artistically in the striped vase she found lurking in a forgotten cupboard.

"I guessed."

"Some guess. You must have the luck of the devil." She commented lightly, still busy with the flowers.

"I guess I do." Gin said softly, eyes darkening slightly, watching Rangiku trim a few spare leaves. _You have no idea._

"I'm afraid," Rangiku said, sighing and leaning against the counter arms folded across her chest, "I'm afraid there is nothing to eat because I haven't gone shopping yet. Is takeout alright?"

"I'll have anything ya want." Gin assured her. Rangiku gave a half smile and turned to dial a number on her phone.

While she was busy calling, he came up behind her and rested his large palms on her waist, bringing her closer to him. He didn't do anything that distracted her too much from the call, but he nuzzled her neck, inhaling the sweet, fresh smell of shampoo and musk that emanated from the warmth of her hair.

He felt her start to struggle away from him and he let her go almost reluctantly.

"Is chinese ok?"

"Chinese's perfect."

* * *

They both ended up lying on the sofa in postprandial bliss, the satisfaction of a good meal making their bodies heavy and tired. The television was playing some black and white film which neither were paying attention to.

Gin's chest seem to be made to fit Rangiku's head and she could hardly muster any strength to move away from that particular place. The angle at which her head was situated was perfect for keeping an eye on the television without straining her neck and slowly but surely she was giving into the soft fingers of sleep that were tugging at her eyelids. She could feel Gin's thumb rubbing languidly over the exposed, rounded patch of skin of her hip, between where her shirt ended and skirt started.

She yawned, cuddling further into Gin's chest, eyes closing.

Gin watched the strawberry blonde curl into his chest and for once he let a real smile play about on his lips. His blue eyes took in the curve of her cheekbone, and the cute way her mouth opened just a bit to let oxygen pass through. He resisted tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ear. He looked at the clock hanging on the wall and then back down at the girl who was now completely asleep.

He moved her gently off him and she immediately settled into one of the large sofa pillows. He tucked a blanket around her and bent down, lips barely grazing her ear.

"I'm gonna go now, ok Rangiku? Sleep well, sweetheart." He whispered softly.

She gave up an imperceptible sound from the back of her throat, which Ichimaru took as a form of her assent. Taking one last glance at the sleeping girl, he let himself out of the apartment quietly, barely making a noise when the door closed.

Nanao came home late at night to find cartons of chinese food everywhere and a completely knocked out Rangiku lying on the sofa, TV playing static.

She sighed and collected the paper cartons, turned off the TV and set a glass of water out for her flat mate. She didn't have the heart to wake the sleeping beauty up, especially when she seemed so content in her sleep, the corners of her mouth lifting up gently.

She did however, help herself to one of the dry fortune cookies that hadn't been eaten yet. She scoffed at the message and left it on the kitchen table for Rangiku to find when she woke up later.

_Conquer your fears or they will conquer you._

* * *

TBC

**Finally the story is going some where. More more MORE action to come in the following chapters. Also, planning on changing the rating to M, if there is anyone against lemons tell me! And If I don't get any feedback, then expect a lemon in future chapters to come -w- **


	7. Chapter 7 Part 1

Attempting a multific after a long hiatus of something like 2 years. A slow start and introduction...and who even reads these..

* * *

_x_

_1. Will lose 3 kilos by the end of June. (need that pretty bikini for summer)_

_2. Will stop drinking. (wine doesn't count- it's basically just grape juice)_

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky._

_4. Will not fall in love again. Ever._

_x_

_Chapter 7_

_x_

_Part 1:_

_"Babe, come here."_

_Rangiku felt someone grab her waist and she landed in someone's lap clumsily. She let out a giggle, and let her head tilt to the side drunkenly. All she could remember was that apparently this was the VIP room. Some VIP room it turned out to be, there were about six people crammed into a small room lined with mock plush sofas, sitting around a wide table scattered with champagne flutes, two half empty bottles of Grey Goose, ash trays overflowing and cards. The room was seated directly above the club's dance floor, which you could only access by invite. Rangiku could feel the dull throb of the bass- like a heartbeat, reverberating from the club interior, but now it this tiny room thoughts of dancing seem irrelevant. It was supposed to be exclusive and a desirable invitation, but Rangiku just wrinkled her nose. She'd been to better rooms before._

_The small stuffy room smelled of stale smoke and most of the occupants were sitting around hunched, hardly moving. The man who had pulled her on to his lap, Hiro Takahashi, was the one who had invited her to begin with. He had spent the last few hours buying her drinks, flirting with her outrageously, and eventually salacious words had turned into lewd touches, which she under her drunken, hazy mind had accepted like a fish to water._

_She had attended the party with Toshiro, but she had managed to lose him- unable to take any more of his disapproving glances as Hiro danced with her closely, fingertips slipping under her top. It was just a party… she was just trying to have fun, right?_

_She gave up a small moan, as Hiro suckled at her neck softly, hand moving swiftly up her thigh._

_"Mmm… not here." She managed, limbs feeling as heavy as lead as she pushed him away lightly. But it wasn't even as if the other occupants of the room would have noticed anyway, it was more of a half hearted attempt at playing the 'hard to get' game._

_"I want to make you feel good. Can I?" He whispered in her ear._

_Rangiku nodded slowly, reaching behind her to lace her hand through his hair. Hiro gave her a quick kiss, dark green eyes narrowing in anticipation. She swayed gently in his lap, her world was spinning and she couldn't stop it. The drunken buzz in her head was making her feel pleasantly content, as if she was swimming through a thick ocean of liquified cotton, just...drifting...away…_

_She came to when he roughly shook her. Rangiku opened her eyes surprised, watching Hiro blow some white dust off his phone, taking out a credit card he started dividing a small white pile, which she'd suddenly noticed, into two, very straight, lines. Her heart started pounding quickly, some of her drunken haze wearing off like she was doused with cold water._

_"W-what's that?" She asked nervously, fidgeting with her necklace and then with her hair, wrapping one of her curls around her finger tightly, sparkly red nail glinting in the dim lighting._

_"Shh, babe. We're going to feel so good." He crooned, stroking her back comfortingly like a mother does child. "Just wait."_

_He picked her up deftly, and sat her down next to him on the worn, striped couches. He bent his head to the table. Rangiku couldn't see what he was doing properly but when he lifted his head up again, he just wiped his face with the back of a hand and grinned at her._

_There was one line left._

_"Your turn."_

_"I...I don't want…" She started struggling to get up, fear motivating her, but he pulled her down as easily as if she was a doll._

_"I thought you told me you were open to trying anything?" He challenged her, a glint in his eye. He looped an arm around her waist and kissed her just below her jaw line. All the fight went out of Rangiku's body, going slack at the dull feeling of pleasure._

_"I am." She said defiantly, but her voice wavered slightly betraying her true feelings._

_"Prove it."_

_She bent her face to the table. She'd never done this before and with her intoxicated mind it was even harder to know what she was supposed to do next. In fact, had she been sober she probably wouldn't be doing this in the first place. But just as she inhaled to take a fortifying breath, some of the powder went up her nose. It stung like hell and when she sat up she could taste some of the powder that she'd inhaled. It tasted awful, like a mix of hairspray and crushed aspirin. She coughed violently, not liking the dry powder one bit. Am I going to die, she wondered briefly as her throat tightened reflexively. She clutched at the edge of the poorly glossed, sticky table, tears pricked her eyes and coughed trying to get rid of the substance._

_"Only half a line?" Hiro asked disappointedly. He rubbed her back again, but it was hardly comforting. "Here, drink this." He handed her a glass filled with sweet brown liquid from out of nowhere._

_Cheap, flat coke mixed with vodka. She sipped it grateful for something to take away the awful taste of pharmaceuticals and she finally managed to regain as much composure as she possibly could, in her drunk state. She hadn't noticed the quick flick of his wrist, as he handed her the drink._

_All Rangiku could feel was a pulsing rush of happiness, she felt a renewed sensation of energy rushing back into her dead limbs. She wanted to dance, just to move and shower her surroundings with the glow that was spilling out of her very being. All tiredness forgotten, she laughed- a sense of joy overcame her and her eyes took on a new, lively sparkle. Hiro just sat back and smirked, licking his lips._

_She hadn't noticed that there was no more powder on the table..._

* * *

Gin leant against a wall, hands thrust deep into his pockets. He was currently ignoring the grain of disquiet that was digging into his conscious like a pebble stuck in a shoe. He took out his phone and tossed it between his hands lightly. To any outsider, it was the look of someone simply killing time, a pose that screamed nonchalance and content. But to anyone who knew Ichimaru (not many did) he had a habit of playing with objects when he was frustrated about something. What he was frustrated about exactly, Gin had no idea himself. All he knew was that he was feeling something like a calm before the storm and he couldn't shake the feeling off.

He forced himself to still his hands, gripping the small device. A device that hadn't rung, beeped or vibrated all day. It wouldn't be the first time this happened, but it mattered today because his phone hadn't stopped ringing, beeping or vibrating all day, everyday since he met a girl. A girl with long, sweet smelling strawberry blonde hair, with stormy grey eyes that sometimes glowed a honey colour in the sun… A slight shiver travelled down his spine at thought of her, wide eyes and soft, full lips. Those wide innocent eyes. He hadn't seen eyes like that for a long time. The more time he spent around Rangiku, the more he felt the dark, defiled and twisted parts of his soul shrivel and cower at the bright, hope and purity that emanated from her very being.

He needed her.

A dark scowl contorted his features as he glanced down at his phone again. He might as well have turned it off, from the amount of notifications he wasn't receiving. His keen ears picked up the sound of someone walking towards his vague direction, and those sounds had abruptly stopped. Looking up he saw Rangiku frowning, arms crossed. He straightened up, signature smile adorning his face, his mask for all that was to come.

"Gin, why are you here?" Rangiku asked irritatedly.

The smile slipped off his face and a frown worked it's way on to face.

"Why didn' ya reply to my messages?"

"I was busy." Rangiku said shortly, but her eyes subconsciously darted to the right. Gin narrowed his eyes and said nothing, waiting for her to elaborate on her lie.

"What's wrong?" He asked urgently, reaching to loosen an arm that was wound tightly around her body protectively. She immediately stepped back.

"Nothing. It's not like I woke up alone or anything with no indication of where you'd gone. Not like it felt like a pathetic one night stand without the actual fucking." She said sarcastically, bitingly.

Is this what this was about? Gin blinked and almost laughed out loud, tension rolling off his back in relief.

"'M sorry, sweetheart. I didn' know I was allowed to stay over." His grin was back and he stepped forward again and she took another step back.

"Gin, this isn't working. I don't think we should see each other anymore. And please," She paused, "Please don't call me that anymore." She said stiffly. It could have just been his imagination, but Gin swore he heard a small quivering undertone, belying her determination.

He looked at her more closely. Rangiku turned her head away from him, but not before he caught the shimmer of moisture in her dark eyes that were clouded with something that looked like hurt. Something was slowly clicking into place.

"This isn't just because I didn' stay over las' nigh', is it?" He caught her shoulder, which she tried to twist away from.

"It doesn't matter! What we had is over, okay? Just-" She was using both hands to try and pry his large one off her. He dug his fingers into her harder, it was going to start to hurt soon. "Let go!"

He complied and she staggered a bit from the unexpected release.

"Please just go." She muttered, rubbing her shoulder.

"No. Not until ya tell me what's wrong."

She just scowled at him blackly and pushed passed him, trying to open up her front door. Gin caught her wrist before she could disappear into her apartment.

"Rangiku!" He exclaimed exasperatedly. "What are you afraid of?"

She stopped struggling for a brief moment, contemplating her answer.

"Please...please just go." Her mouth moved wordlessly after that, but he never caught the rest of her sentence. Her eyes had taken on a wounded, betrayed look, something he never expected to see appear on such a beautiful face. Gin found himself disliking the look immensely.

"No, tell me. What are ya afraid of. What are ya escapin' from?" He tugged her closer to him and this time she fell into his chest like a limp rag doll, he caught her and held her tightly.

"'M not gonna let ya go." He said quietly. It had been a simple guess, a phrase that he used to search out the truth, but when Gin felt the tension in the girl drain like a plug being pulled from a lukewarm bath, he closed his eyes. He'd guessed right. He wanted to kick himself for being so stupid… he should have cottoned on to the fact that he was dealing with damaged goods earlier. While Gin was relieved that this wasn't entirely about him, he felt a strong, animalistic urge to destroy whoever it was that had caused that look to appear on Rangiku's face. His jaw clenched in an effort to suppress the low snarl that had built up in his throat.

He pulled back and took his hand, forcing her chin up- making sure she had no choice but to look at him. He touched his forehead to hers with such gentleness that contrasted the turmoiled, anger that had surged up suddenly within his psyche.

"'M not like him. I won' ever leave you without a good reason. I can't promise I'll never hurt ya, no one can promise something as irresponsible as that. But I promise, tha' you'll never wake up alone, if that's what ya want. If ya want me gone, then tell me. Tell me now ta my face."

His blue eyes willed the stormy grey ones to open.

"Tell me. Four simple words, sweethear'. 'I wan' ya gone'." He whispered, but his arms that wrapped around her form strongly completely negated his words. "Do ya wan' me gone?"

Even if she did want him gone, he wasn't sure he could let go.

Rangiku pulled her head back from his, choosing to bury it in his chest, but not before he caught the small, frail "no" that had passed her lips like a small leaf trembling in the wind.

"Don't go." The words came out tentatively, a plea muffled against his jacket. A delicate hand balled into the soft fabric of his shirt, gripping it tightly as if it were some lifeline.

"I won't." Gin promised, bending his head to bury his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply. Their cheeks brushed and he felt wetness. He let out a small groan and grabbed the back of her head cradling it tightly to his chest, the sides of their faces crushing together, her tears smearing against the hollow of his cheek. Her blonde hair tickled his nose and eyelids, but he noticed none of that as he whispered over and over in her ear.

_I won't let ya go, you're mine._

* * *

TBC

**I need to address 2 points here. **

**1. I do NOT, endorse the use of drugs at all. I won't judge people for using drugs- that is your life choice not mine. But I'm using the idea for this story. If you have an aversion to reading about drug usage, I suggest you stop reading.**

**2. This was going to be twice as long, so this chapter is Part 1. Part 2 is coming up just as soon as I finish typing this. I've had my exams and finals and shitty shit like that...and man I just want to write this story, why is that so hard :'(**

**3. I said I had 2 points but I actually have 3, this story is going to be M-Rated from this point on. Don't like, don't read:O But I'll be sad to see you go:c **


	8. Chapter 8 Part 2

**EHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHE LEMONS.**

**YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**

**:D**

* * *

_x_

_1. Will lose 3 kilos by the end of June. (need that pretty bikini for summer)_

_2. Will stop drinking. (wine doesn't count- it's basically just grape juice)_

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky._

_4. Will not fall in love again. Ever._

_x_

_Chapter 7_

_x_

_Part 2:_

_In a room with the curtains half open, scattered with clothes, porn magazines and various drug paraphernalia stood a girl, waiting for a boy._

_Rangiku walked around the small room, flipping through a few pages of a porn magazine and touching an ornate glass bong. The musky scent of male inhibited her senses making her feel bold and excited. Across the room, opposite a messy single bed she spotted one of her favourite things. Walking over to the shiny mirror, she popped a few buttons on her shirt and gave her a reflection a coy look. She giggled as footsteps sounded behind her and hands gripped her hips. She felt her body spin around to meet dark green eyes. He looked so much better without the haze of cigarette smoke and the mysterious, inky blackness of clubs that had stained his personality. Dark, rust coloured hair covered an eye carelessly as he caught her lips with his own._

_"I missed you. Looking sexy as always… I always liked you in skirts. They make your ass look so," His hand reached around and squeezed, "Delicious." He said in a lilting undertone, tilting her head with a finger to kiss her throat._

_Rangiku's eyes slid shut._

_"When are we getting to the good part?" She half-moaned as Hiro left a rather prominent mark on the soft flesh of her neck. She couldn't care less, it was one mark to add to the other bruises all fading at different rates on her neck._

_"Relax babe, I've got everything. You're eager today, what's up?"_

_"College is stressing me out hard. Toshiro had a go at me today as well, for coming here. I don't understand what his problem is. I just can't deal with anything right now." She sighed, mascara'd eyes fluttering shut with frustration. "Hurry up."_

_Hiro kissed her red lips and pulled back, dangling a small bag filled with a small amount of crystals._

_"Care to do the honours?"_

* * *

The door to Rangiku's room banged against the wall as the couple navigated their way to the bed, connected by lips and fingers that were busy undoing buttons and snaps. Gin gripped one of her legs that brushed up his own, rubbing against him. He pulled her against him, one hand supporting her back, kissing her deeply.

Their breath came out in shallow pants while they fought to take off their clothes in between kissing and grabbing at visible skin. Rangiku all but ripped off his shirt in her haste to undress him, while Gin tugged her skirt down impatiently.

When she sank down on the comforting softness of her bed, she pulled him down with her, kissing him heatedly. Their tongues massaged against each other slowly before growing vigorous with hunger and need for each other.

They were both in various states of undress. The muscles of Gin's back flexed as he bent his head to kiss Rangiku's collar bone, fingers tugging at the silky material of her shirt, buttons straining against her chest as they just barely allowed him to bare a milky shoulder.

Her long, smooth legs wrapped themselves tightly around his hips, locking him in place. The couple couldn't help but moan as her clothed center, rubbed against Gin's hardened length anxiously. He thrust his hips back reflexively, grinding against her, pushing her into the bed forcefully at the sensation.

She could only let out soft whimpers as nimble fingers quickly undid the buttons of her top, exposing her chest for the taking. She raised a hand, intent on covering herself from him when he caught her wrist, pinning it beside her.

"Let me see, please?" He whispered, eyes searching hers for true signs of discomfort. He didn't want to force her into anything she didn't want to do. He would never want to hurt her intentionally. A sudden desire to protect the lithe body beneath him welled up- surprising him. Sure, there were people who he had cared about in the past. Many girlfriends, but none that prompted the urge to protect. If he was honest, Gin had a small kink. He liked innocent girls, he liked stripping girls of their innocence, seeing their eyes take on a wild, defiled look as they experienced the meaning of true pleasure for the first time. But taking in the small dips and shadows that played beneath Rangiku's neck, the perfect little gap between her full lips, he realized he couldn't tarnish what had already been tainted. More like, he didn't want to defile the creature that was begging him softly. If being innocent was what had led to the wounded look he'd seen early that day, he would gladly act as a healing agent instead.

Small puffs of air danced across his skin, as she slowly closed her eyes, cheeks taking on a rosy glow. _Let me see._ The question meant so much more than asking for a glance at the physical. To bare herself, and lay herself open, was to trust and believe that she wouldn't be hurt by the person in front of her. But when she opened her eyes again, the shimmer in those silvery-grey orbs told Gin everything he needed to know. He kissed her softly, thanking her silently.

His hands, slipped behind her back which arched slightly to let him undo the clasps there. A mark of a true seducer, he had no trouble whatsoever and the clasps seemingly sprang open at his touch. He slowly took the lingerie off, gradually revealing more and more soft flesh. Rangiku lay still, unable to do anything as Gin stared down at her ample chest with veneration, without actually touching her heated skin. It surprised her because it wasn't look of a wild, rabid wolf chained inches away from a raw meal, but rather the look of a person who'd just seen something akin to Elysium. She gradually shed her inhibitions, under his gaze, enough to raise herself to her elbows and give him a small, closed mouth kiss.

The sweet shyness of the kiss had Gin closing his eyes as he cupped the back of her head to deepen it. Tongue sweeping in, touching hers briefly, he nibbled on her lower lip till it was puffy. He urged her to lie back down on the downy covers, free hand tracing the junction of where the skin started encasing her voluptuous mounds. It was a subtle touch, but enough to make her peaks harden with anticipation of rougher touches.

"Look at me." He breathed against her lips, swollen with his passionate kisses. Her eyes opened, glassy with desire, lost in the moment.

"Look at me," Gin repeated urgently, he placed a hand against her cheek, "I won' ever leave ya."

Rangiku made no sound or indication that she heard what he said, but the tightening of her legs around his hips, bringing them closer together- as if they could meld together as one- was her affirmation, her acceptance of his words. Whether she really believed it or not, was up to him to prove it to her.

When Gin next moved, it was to brush his lips against her chest, fingers finally moving to massage and stroke willing skin into submission. The girl pushed her head back into the pillow, unsolicited moans issuing from her mouth as she pressed a hand to the silver head, threading her fingers through the soft strands- fingertips grazing the warmth gently. The sounds encouraged Gin to suck harder on a patch of sweet skin, satiny smooth against his tongue.

The feel of his tongue was maddening, especially as it moved wetly, torturously slowly teasing the swell of her breasts, before finally descending over an aching peak. His free hand came up to massage and press down firmly on the other hardened nipple and she let out a moan, arching against his touches.

He pulled back briefly, and grinned widely, pleased with his handiwork. Below him she lay, hot and flushed, hair sticking to her neck and temple as she panted out soft breaths, still overwhelmed by the expert stimulation he'd unleashed on her body. Her hips were bucking softly into his, grinding into him as a way to hint at her true intentions and relieve some of the aching pressure that was building up in her center.

He dislodged the legs that were wrapped around his hips tightly and held them down, with a tiny bit of force. Rangiku let out a small whine at the display of dominance, a tingle of electric excitement zipping down her spine and right to the very tips of her toes, which curled in anticipation of what was to come.

"Ya're so… so… beautiful." He muttered, stroking the side of her thigh with one hand. Before she could even protest, Gin bent his head and began trailing a path of viciously, delicious wet, kisses from her sternum and oh-

His nose bumped the center of her underwear and she let out a squeak of embarrassment, hands flailing, unsure whether to cover her face in embarrassment or to push his face away from her crotch. She was so wet, and she was so sure he could see and smell the musky dew that had slicked the gusset of her underwear.

Gin ignored the soft whines of protest and slowly pressed forward, not minding the cotton in the slightest. His tongue reached out to probe and trace her nether lips in a curious fashion. Rangiku was still squirming, attempting to squeeze him out between her legs. Annoyed, he grasped her thighs more firmly and held them apart- simultaneously pushing his tongue into the area that was staining the cotton the sweetest. Though the material was hindering full penetration, the effect was instantaneous as she let out a loud moan that neither of protest or embarrassment, but pure unadulterated pleasure, hips rising off the bed and center pressed harder against his mouth in an effort to feel more- get more…

He could only oblige his lover as she let out more needy moans and soft sexy pants, while he tongued her entrance and cautiously pressed a thumb against her small bud that became prominent through the wetness provided by his saliva and her own juices.

The material was sopping wet and by now she was beginning to feel that her underwear was becoming a hindrance, an obstacle between the true heat and active muscle that she only had wisps of imagination for. She hooked a thumb on the edge of the lace and Gin concealed a grin, taking the hint. Wasting no time, he slipped them off her long legs and discarded them somewhere to be found much later. Without a moment's hesitation he dove back into his job and she let out the loudest moan yet, back arching at what must have been a painful angle, hands fisting into his hair as his skillful tongue sucked and licked with expertise.

Even as his lips closed around her hooded center, she couldn't stop the gasps and heavy pants that were on the verge of turning into lewd sounds of loud pleasure. Her knees rose up from the bed attempting to trap Gin between her legs, as if to keep him working there for eternity. Her hips moved in time with his mouth and Rangiku could only raise a shaky hand to push the hair away from her eyes clumsily. She wasn't a stranger to men going down on her, but never before had she experienced someone who was so intent and dedicated to pleasuring her solely through his mouth. It made her insides melt and clench with a desire that had her bucking into his mouth fervently.

She was so close- a coiled pressure was being wound tighter and tighter within her center. Her legs were quivering uncontrollably with strained tension as hips rocked subconsciously with a rhythm of their own. With every swipe of his hot, wet tongue against her center, torturing her clit with precision, she felt an intense feeling push her closer and closer to the edge. Something slick and solid entered her, she looked down blearily to see Gin moving his hand in and out of her in time with his mouth. A needy mewl escaped her lips she felt herself spiral towards a sweet collision that she desperately craved. And when he licked her just there, when he curved his fingers in her, nudging up against a pressure of nerves, she lost it, spasming around his fingers, hands tightening in silver hair as she let out debauched gasps, with every twitch of her body. Gin kept his fingers in place, still rubbing her gently from the inside out, heel of his palm against her clit applying gentle pressure as she came down from her high reluctantly.

He wanted and could have brought her to another orgasm, but he knew how sensitive women sometimes became and at times it could begin to hurt. He dislodged and withdrew his fingers from within her slick entrance slowly as to not overwhelm her and gave her sweet center a chaste kiss of apology. Rangiku let out a sound of discontent at the feeling of emptiness but she could barely move, chest heaving as if she'd just run a marathon. She honestly felt like she had, she was slick all over, panting hard and she knew her cheeks were probably flushed red because her body felt like it was burning up from the inside out.

Rangiku struggled to sit up and then reached for Gin's belt. She was surprised when he caught her hand.

"But I want-" She protested. She wanted to return the favour after that mind-blowing, earth shattering orgasm he'd just given her.

Gin just shook his head and kissed her, mouth still sticky. Rangiku blushed at the sweet and salient flavour that flooded her mouth. How could he stand to willing taste this? She needed to return the favour, it wasn't just want driving her motives now. She struggled against his hold and let out a surprised gasp as he pushed her back forcefully on to the bed.

"No." He said firmly, kissing her nose.

"Why not? I want to make you feel good too! Do you think I can't or-"

"I bet ya can make me feel good n' more ways than one. But t'day s'all about you. So don' worry ya pretty head about it. We'll have lots and lots of time ta do it, over and over...and over." He said punctuating each word with a kiss. Rangiku finally relented but she wasn't convinced. Gin just wrapped his arms around her and positioned her in a way so that she was tucked under his arm, against his side, head on his bare chest. Their legs tangled up in the sheets beneath them.

As she let her pulse return to normal, their inhales and exhales started to sync in time with each other. Each rise and fall of their breaths making her feel even more lethargic in addition to the oxytocin that was running rampant in her system.

It was just quiet in the room as the only sounds in the room were soft exhales that came from the exhausted bodies lying on the small bed. Gin's thumb was stroking the curve of her shoulder soothingly while she absentmindedly played with the lightly ridged muscles of his stomach.

"Ran chan, wha's that?" Gin asked after a while, pointing to a piece of paper that was pinned to her bulletin board. Rangiku craned her neck to see what he was pointing at. Ah… she blushed slightly. She'd forgotten to take that down.

"Those are… my New Years Resolutions." She said, hiding her face a bit.

"Will… not… fall… in love…" Gin squinted hard at the loopy handwriting.

"Don't read it!" Rangiku exclaimed mortified, swatting at his chest lightly trying to distract him and Gin laughed, a deep, rumbling laugh that came from deep within his chest. It warmed her thoroughly. She loved hearing him laugh. She lay her head back on his chest, looking up at him with softened affection in her eyes. He looked back and grinned at her.

"Do ya actually manage to keep your resolutions?" He asked amused.

"...No. I never do." She confessed, she gave his chest a small, tentative lick- tasting him.

"Ya know, it's not too late to change 'em."

"You're not really meant to change your New Years Resolutions, it kind of defeats the purpose of making them." She reminded him.

"Ya're not really meant ta break 'em either." He batted back teasingly. She wrinkled her nose at him and he kissed it. "Migh' as well make promises ya'll actually keep, righ'?"

"I guess…" Rangiku said unconvinced.

"So wha' should we make 'em?" Gin said conversationally.

"Wait- 'we'?"

"Yeah, 'course." He gave her shoulder a squeeze, "_'You and me, against the world.'_"

* * *

TBC

**I was going to finish the lemon, but the chapter was getting very long and who doesn't want a tease for a boyfriend -w- ...and also its 4am and I'm lazy as shit. But do not fret, for all you pervs 3 I shall be writing a full lemon in due course. This was more practice, because I haven't written a 'graphic' lemon since... 2010 or 2009. I genuinely can't remember. Anyway, very long time ago. Who even reads these author notes. Reviews and comments very much appreciated especially about the lime because goddamn, I can't write these for shit. (sorry)**

**two chapters in one night. -w-**


	9. Chapter 9

**And the story continues...**

* * *

_x_

_1. Will NOT lose 3 kilos by the end of June, because Ichimaru Gin says so._

_2. Will stop drinking but not around Ichimaru Gin, because drinking with Gin is fun. _

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky, but will not hold Ichimaru Gin responsible for any tardiness._

_4. Will DEFINITELY fall in love with Ichimaru Gin. Over and over again._

_As edited by yours truly,_

_Ichimaru Gin._

_x_

_Chapter 9_

_x_

_Rangiku hummed quietly as she collected tight dresses and sexy underwear into a cardboard box. She fingered the lacy teddy she owned and threw that in as well. She was glowing. He loved her. He told her he LOVED her. Her heart skipped a beat as she twirled around the room, touching the necklace he placed on her neck earlier that day...along with his proposition. She'd never moved in with a guy before, but Hiro promised and assured her that everything would be fine and that they'd be able to have even more fun living together. She couldn't wait. What sort of things should she take with her? She could always borrow half of Hiro's things...sleep in his old shirt, share the same toothpaste… eat from the same plates. As if they'd even have time to eat. She blushed at the thought, a giddy sense of recklessness overtook her and she applied some more red lipstick to her already slickened lips. All Rangiku could think about was the 'welcoming' present Hiro said that he'd prepared for her. What was it going to be this time? Acid? or something more… pleasurable? A wide smile split across her face as she examined yet another hickey he'd placed on her neck._

_Someone coughed lightly and she jumped a little._

_"You're home late…" Nanao said quietly as she folded her arms across her chest._

_"Yeah?" Rangiku started, tension suddenly rising in her muscles. These days everyone seemed to be on her case. Why couldn't they see she was just happy the way things were? "Since when did you care when I come home? You're not my mother."_

_Nanao was silent. She fixed the position of her glasses on her nose, eyes taking on a saddened look as she regarded her roommate._

_"You're right.. I'm not. But I'm still allowed to care about you, Rangiku san- I just don't think that what you're doing is…" She hesitated here. "I don't think… I feel that there are better ways to...spend time with someone."_

_The usually concise and eloquent Nanao was at a loss for words as she tried to put her point across to her irate friend delicately. They used to be such friends, sharing everything and anything together but lately all they seemed to do was argue and share the apartment in stony silence. And it was all since he came into her life._

_"Well, you don't have to do any of that anymore. I'm leaving." Rangiku waved her hand at the suitcases and boxes around her carelessly._

_"What about the rent-"_

_"Get another roommate. I don't care." She snapped cheeks turning red, turning around unable to face her bespectacled friend. Too ashamed, but for what? She hated arguing but lately… lately she couldn't help her attitude. She was constantly cross and tired… irritated to say the least. If she didn't have Hiro, she didn't know what she would do. He made her forget everything. He had ways of making her forget everything… the time they spent together was… magical. Why couldn't anyone understand that?_

_"Okay." Nanao said quietly, shifting her balance from one leg to the other. She took a free hand from behind her back, extending a pile of letters towards Rangiku. "These are for you, they came in the post from the university."_

_Rangiku turned briefly and took them without thanks. Nanao bit her lip and closed the door to Rangiku's room quietly._

_She continued packing but with less enthusiasm. She forced herself to smile, trying to convince herself that what she was doing was right. Or that it would be fine. Everything would be fine in the end right? The ends justified the means right…?_

_Slinging a bag over her shoulder, she turned to leave her now bare room. She spied one of the letters that Nanao had given to her and she hesitated. Against better judgment she opened one up and scanned the contents. She scoffed and left the letter on her dresser, the rest of the pile unopened._

**_To MATSUMOTO RANGIKU,_**

**_Due to your failure to attend class as of late and lack of work submission, there is a possibility that you will not be able to obtain the credits to pass the course. Please check with your academic advisor to make sure that you have scheduled enough hours to make up for your missed hours. You have a fortnight to complete and submit all missing work._**

**_You will not be able to take the final examination if these conditions are not fulfilled. Failure to comply with these conditions will lead to a suspension and possible termination of your place at this university._**

**_Thank you for your cooperation and understanding,_**

**_Karakura University Administrative Office_**

* * *

"You know, we should probably take a breather, go out for dinner tonight or something." Momo said, eyes shining as she leaned on Toshiro's arm, chatting excitedly to Rangiku. "I'm so tired of studying for finals. What do you think?"

Rangiku hefted her books a little higher on her arms to avoid them from slipping on to the ground. It was Friday afternoon, her book bag was digging into her shoulder painfully and she was in every way, excited to just leave campus for the next two days.

"This means I'm paying doesn't it." Toshiro groused as he girlfriend kissed his cheek fondly, he pushed her away slightly letting a blush stain his cheeks, he could never get used to the public displays of affection, no matter how much his female friends crooned at how sweet they were together. In fact, that was probably the reason why. He cleared his throat, "Do you want to come, Matsumoto?"

Rangiku bit her lip. She was hoping that she'd be able to have dinner with Gin tonight or to just be with him, but on the other hand she hadn't really seen her friends apart from Nanao in awhile. She hadn't told anyone about Gin. The only person who knew was Nanao who swore she'd keep it a secret. There wasn't much oath swearing involved really, more like Rangiku frantically waving her arms around as Nanao walked into a post-bliss cuddle session, and Nanao blushing and wiping down her glasses wildly, apologising and pretending she hadn't just seen her roommate topless with her beau's hand between her legs. Gin had just laughed it off, not bothered by it at, kissing her heated cheeks with amusement leading her yet into another round of delicious sex…

"Matsumoto!" An insistent voice brought her back to reality. "Are you coming, or what?!"

"Only if I'm allowed." She said with a teasing grin. "And if I'm not intruding."

Momo opened her mouth to reply when someone interrupted her.

"If it isn't Rangiku." A snide voice reached the trio's ears and they turned around simultaneously.

Riruka walked towards the group with a smirk on her face, flanked by her friends Loly and Menoly. She tossed her bright head in greeting, pausing in front of Rangiku, completely ignoring Toshiro and Momo, with a hand cocked on her hip.

Rangiku tried to suppress the feeling of unease and loathing that welled up at the sight of the made up girl and her minions. _No, not minions_. She corrected herself briefly. What did Riruka want? They had stopped speaking mainly because their interests diverged, and it wasn't like Riruka was tripping over her feet to talk to Rangiku again. The only thing that could prompt Riruka to talk to her just spelled trouble all over. She struggled to regulate her heartbeat, but thankfully her voice betrayed none of her uneasy qualms when she next spoke.

"Hello, Riruka. How've you been?"

"Great thanks." Riruka tossed back flippantly, "We're wondering if you're coming to the party tonight. It's an open bar and some guys from Las Noches Uni are going to be DJ-ing. It's going to be the best event of the month apparently. I haven't seen you at Sonido lately."

Ah, the invitations to parties and events. She closed her eyes briefly. She used to receive dozens over the week and then she'd have trouble picking which ones to go to over the weekend. She almost forgotten what it was like waking up hungover on a Monday morning.

"Nah, I'm not really into that sort of thing anymore." She said lightly, hoping that Riruka wouldn't pursue the subject any further.

"Yeah good thing too," Riruka suddenly chirped, eyes taking on a sadistic gleam of satisfaction. Rangiku's heart started hammering against her chest and Toshiro suddenly stiffened up, stepping in front of Rangiku almost protectively, it was the look of smug contempt- like a cat that got the cream that scared Rangiku of what she was going to say next...

"Riruka-" Toshiro hissed warningly. "Don't you dare say another-"

"You wouldn't want to put another man in jail, would ya?" Riruka said triumphantly, as she took in Rangiku's face that had gone deathly pale at her words, her figure freezing in shock completely. She lifted a shaking hand to her chest as if to still the furious pounding that was making her feel lightheaded and was taking a threatening step towards the purple headed girl, shaking and seething with anger and frustration that he could not hit this girl. Momo was just looking perplexed at Riruka's statement, bewildered at the reactions of her friends.

"Leave, Dokugamine." Toshiro snarled lowly. "Before I say something I'll regret."

"Geez, don't get your panties in a twist, _Hitsugaya_." Riruka affected Toshiro's tone of voice mockingly, revelling in the fact that he couldn't do anything to her anyway. "I was just about to leave anyway. Takahashi sends his regards, _babe_." She tossed out to Rangiku who looked like a dried up autumn leaf, about to be blown away by the slightest gust of wind.

Riruka looking thoroughly satisfied with her work done here, jerked her head towards her friends who had stayed silent throughout the interaction, and departed, talking about things that were deeply irrelevant and so callously light compared to her caustic taunts, that couldn't possibly considered taunts the way they cut through Rangiku like a hot knife through butter.

Once the three toxic girls had walked out of earshot, Toshiro turned to Rangiku who was still staring unseeingly at a patch of dirt in front of her. Her lips were shaking very slightly and her hand that was on her chest squeezed the silky material with a punishing grip, knuckles deathly white.

"What was that about?" Momo whispered, fearfully.

Toshiro only shook his head, mouthing that he'd explain later.

"Rangiku, can you walk?" Toshiro placed a hand on the crook her her elbow, encouraging her to move. She slowly lifted her head up and looked at him with a mixed expression on her face. It scared him, but he didn't let it show.

"We don't have to go out tonight. We'll make something at home." Momo said cautiously, gripping Rangiku's other elbow, one hand placed on her back soothingly.

The pair helped their completely mute friend walk home.

But not before stopping to pick up a bottle of wine or two, at her silent request.

* * *

Momo stroked her friend's back worriedly as she sipped robotically from a mug that was nearly overflowing with wine, a mug that had been refilled almost twice in the last hour or so. She eyed Toshiro and Nanao who were clumped in a corner of the room, in furious whispers. No one was telling her anything and it was frustrating her to no end.

Dinner was a quiet uneventful affair. No one was really watching the tv and no one had really wanted to play cards, not with the tense and stiff atmosphere that had followed Toshiro and Momo back from school. Rangiku had barely eaten anything but she excused herself, standing up mechanically and walking to the kitchen, plate in hand. They all heard the brief sound of rushing water as she rinsed off her plate, and the unmistakable bubble of liquid being poured from the bottle to a cup. Nanao and Toshiro traded a look which Rangiku caught as she exited the kitchen. She stared at them briefly, challenging them to say something. When nothing happened, she walked down the corridor to her room- a distinct click echoing throughout the apartment.

"Okay, now, will someone please tell me what's going on?" Momo asked finally, putting her glass down on the coffee table in front of her, next to her plate. "What on Earth was that?"

Toshiro let out an exhausted sigh, one hand pushing into his thick locks of white hair as he contemplated what to say.

Nanao nodded, pulling her legs up onto the sofa, curled under her.

"You have to promise not to mention this to anyone, least of all to Matsumoto. Understood?" Toshiro said quietly.

Momo nodded, biting her lip anxiously.

He began to speak and the more he did, the wider Momo's eyes became.

* * *

TBC

**I'm so glad finals are done and I can finally finish writing up the rest of this story in peace.**


	10. Chapter 10

**And the story continues...**

* * *

_x_

_1. Will NOT lose 3 kilos by the end of June, because Ichimaru Gin says so._

_2. Will stop drinking but not around Ichimaru Gin, because drinking with Gin is fun. _

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky, but will not hold Ichimaru Gin responsible for any tardiness._

_4. Will DEFINITELY fall in love with Ichimaru Gin. Over and over again._

_As edited by yours truly,_

_Ichimaru Gin._

_x_

_Chapter 10_

_x_

_"Hiro, what's wrong?" Rangiku asked tentatively watching Hiro push the dinner she'd made, around his plate moodily. For the last ten minutes she'd watched him sigh, play with an earring, press a hand to his eyes and the tapping of his foot had never stopped, drumming a nervous beat into the floor._

_"The deal didn't pull through." He said through clenched teeth, pushing a hand through his rusty locks frustratedly. He dropped his fork on to the plate with a rude clatter which startled Rangiku a bit. She placed her fork down carefully and regarded him with big eyes._

_"I'm sure you can always find another person-"_

_"It doesn't work like that! Not everyone is as naive as you are." He snapped and she flinched, looking down at the table, hands squeezing in her lap. He could be so harsh sometimes._

_"I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean it." Hiro said with exaggerated calm, extending an arm, palm side up, as an invitation to hold his hand. She shakily placed her hand in his. She couldn't lie, she was afraid of Hiro when he was in a bad mood. It was even scarier when he was pretending to be in a good mood when he clearly wasn't. It was like placing a thin, flimsy sheet over a roiling dark mass of angry lava, the sheet could be ripped open at any second, burning anyone who got too close- or in the way._

_He closed his fingers around hers and brought the hand to his lips. They felt cold and lifeless and she struggled to maintain eye contact, wanting nothing more to have her hand back._

_She really did like living with Hiro, it had seemed and felt so natural at first. He welcomed her with open arms and they did and shared everything. Everything seemed to fall into place and her momentary lapse of doubt as she left her key under the apartment doormat for the final time, disappeared like a snowflake in a blast furnace as he kissed her fully and helped her take in her bags._

_"Hiro?" Rangiku asked nervously, "...I was wondering when we'd go shopping for the new table-"_

_"I told you to stop fucking bringing up the damn table!" Hiro interrupted her question angrily, slamming a hand onto the table. "If and when the deal comes through and I get enough, that's when we'll get the damn table."_

_"It's just, I feel like it's literally going to fall apart-" The table gave a demonstrative wiggle as it nearly buckled under the weight of Hiro's hand once more. Rangiku flinched and fell silent again, watching him with fearful eyes._

_"Rangiku, just shut up and do your nails or something. It's none of your business and it never will be, okay? You don't know what you're talking about." Hiro stood up abruptly, taking his almost full plate in hand. He strode over to the kitchen sink._

_"And by the way," Hiro added as she turned around to face him in her rickety chair, "This tasted like shit."_

_He dropped the plate on to the floor, china smashing into several large pieces, with food rolling off and splattering onto the floor in a disgusting concoction of broken crockery and cold remains._

_She watched him stalk towards their bedroom, hearing the door slam and a tear trickled down the side of her face. A tear that fell out of fear, anxiety, relief and guilty shame at the fact that she felt relieved to be out of his ominous presence._

_She hid her face in her hands and let out a quiet sob, she didn't want to have to clean up yet another broken plate._

_At this rate, they'd have to eat out of bowls instead._

* * *

Rangiku tilted back in her chair, stretching. This was the last class before her stats exam and she was so ready to fail. She shook her head, no, she needed positive thoughts. She dreaded the thought of having to retake this course for the third time. That was just humiliating. So far she'd attended every class since the New Year began, and she patted herself on the back mentally. At least that was one resolution she'd kept up with so far. Now to just actually pass the damn course…

Toshiro slid into the seat next to her, placing a notebook and calculator, that he wasn't even going to use, on the desk.

"Done the homework then?" He smirked in greeting, knowing fully well that she hadn't. He placed the sheet with the correct answers on them in front of her and Rangiku raised an eyebrow, unaccustomed to receiving her saviour without shedding a few drops of tears and blood in the process.

She started copying the answers down quickly and without question, not believing her luck.

"So I suppose I better ask, right," Toshiro began languidly, appraising her out of the corner of one eye as he stared up at the ceiling counting the cracks, "Who's the guy you're seeing?"

Rangiku stopped writing and grinned widely.

"Did Nanao tell you?"

"Of course not, " He scoffed, "It's written all over your face. In fact it's been basically plastered on your body for the last few weeks but I didn't bother asking figuring you'd tell me. But judging by the fact you haven't- I'm assuming you're pretty serious, right? So who's the lucky guy?" Toshiro supposed he could endure some girly chat for at least fifteen minutes before he started to feel more feminine than masculine, but seeing as this was one of the topics that made Rangiku very happy to discuss at length and gusto, he grudgingly allowed her to speak for as long as she wanted- which would probably be the whole lesson.

Rangiku beamed. She had been wanting to tell Toshiro about Gin for some time now, but she knew how iffy he'd became when it came to chatting about boys and love and so she'd refrained. Also partly she wanted to keep Gin a secret for herself to enjoy but she knew she had to let the fox out of the bag some day.

She fished around her bag for her phone. Flicking through a few photos, she stopped at the one with him kissing her cheek as she winked at the camera. She liked that one, it was taken at the park he'd first brought her to. God, that first date felt like such a long time ago. She could still remember the tangy taste of the olives on her tongue and the closeness of his face to hers without actually kissing. Not that that happened anymore, it was impossible to remain less than five centimeters away from each other without ending in a liplock.

"Here." She handed him the phone which Toshiro took. Rangiku watched his face closely, heart beating in anticipation of what he'd say. But as Toshiro's features darkened by the second, she felt herself becoming cross and annoyed. Wasn't he supposed to be feeling happy for her? What the heck was that look on his face?

"Rangiku, I don't think you should see this guy." Toshiro said quietly. "What's his name again?"

"Gin. Ichimaru Gin." She gritted out through clenched teeth as she all but snatched her phone back from his unresisting fingers. "God, Toshiro. What's your problem?"

There was another pregnant pause before he answered, without looking at her.

"I just don't think you should see this guy." He insisted without answering her question directly.

"Toshiro! You know I've been dating this guy for weeks, you can't just tell me this now and expect that I'll break up with him. I really, really like him, ok?"

"Didn't he go to Las Noches?"

"I don't know, and even if he did, petty school rivalry isn't reason enough for me to just break up with a guy."

Toshiro crossed his arms adamantly, a sour expression clouding his face as he regarded his best friend.

"I get it now." Rangiku said slowly, eyes narrowing in an accusatory glare. "You're jealous, aren't you. You're jealous at the fact that I'm dating someone that isn't you. Don't think I don't know about the crush that you had on me. I know how you look at me, when you think I'm not looking." Rangiku couldn't stop the poisonous words tumbling from her lips, adrenaline and anger were taking over her fast and her words tripped over one another in haste. There could be no other explanation as to why Toshiro was behaving so strangely.

"You still like me don't you, even if you're dating Hinamori, and you're jealous that I'm happy with Gin."

Toshiro who'd been looking at her with a look of disapproval up till then, now had a look of extreme hurt painted across his face that he didn't even bother hiding.

"Fuck you." He said quietly, teal eyes shimmering slightly. He stood up, sweeping his books into his bag uncaringly.

Rangiku's eyes widened too late, with the full realisation of what she'd just said. She grabbed his wrist.

"Wait- No, I didn't mean what I said! It was an accident!" She panicked, wishing with all her might that she could take back her words, even though she knew nothing would excuse what she'd just said to one of her closest friends. "Please, I'm so sorry-"

"Let go, Matsumoto." Toshiro snapped, shaking her hand off his wrist angrily. "You're dating a guy that you don't even know. Don't come crying to me when it's over. We're over." He added, sending her one last burning glare.

Rangiku watched him leave helplessly, the small white head disappearing around the corner, not to be seen again. Her face prickled with shame and embarrassment at what had just happened. Their argument hadn't been a quiet one either and she could feel people staring at her from all directions of the lecture hall. She wanted to leave and bury herself into a hole, never to emerge again.

What had she done?

She hid her head in her arms. God knows how she was ever going to fix this mistake. Would she even be able to fix this mistake? Even if Toshiro had just been gone for over thirty minutes, the emptiness without him by her side was overwhelming. She kept checking her phone, to see if he'd text her something- anything, but her phone remained silent and unchanged. Rangiku struggled to keep the lump in her throat down, she deserved the stony anger that Toshiro was displaying, there would be no way in hell that he'd show any indication that they even knew each other now. When Toshiro got angry, he stayed angry for a very long time, she knew that well enough.

She swore.

Her fingers flew over the keypad, typing out a message to the one person she could rely on to save her from herself.

* * *

"Sorry for calling you out on such short notice- I just, I really need to be with someone." Rangiku apologised as Gin laced their fingers together sweetly, comfortingly.

"It's no bother. I hope you don't mind hangin' out at the flat, I have some things I hafta do first." He dropped a kiss on her head.

Gin walked nonchalantly, free hand in his pocket, the corners of his mouth perpetually turned upwards. Rangiku looked up at him discreetly. She couldn't shake Toshiro's words from her head, "You're dating a guy that you don't even know." What did that even mean? Sure she didn't exactly know where Gin graduated but it didn't matter. Did it…?

"...Gin?"

"Mmm?" He cracked a light blue eye to look down at her questioningly, without breaking their walking pace.

"Where'd you, you know, go to university?"

"Funny question really, I've been ta a lot of universities. I can't exactly pick one."

He was avoiding the question Rangiku noted and narrowed her eyes. She could tell by the way the sliver of his light blue eye had disappeared from sight, an even broader grin covering up his past, concealing it.

"But where did you finish university?" She pressed, refusing to let go of the subject just yet. She wasn't going to lose her friendship with Toshiro in vain. The fact that Toshiro had been so adamant about her choice in a man, struck an uneasy chord within her. Toshiro tended to stay out of her love life and he'd never told her who she should or shouldn't date before...If she turned out to be right and that there was nothing wrong with Ichimaru, she'd just tell Toshiro so, and maybe they could just get over this misunderstanding. But if Toshiro was right… Rangiku shook her head slightly, not really wanting to think about that. If Toshiro was right, then she was going to have to eat a lot of crow. Her jaw ached at the thought.

"Why'd ya want ta know?" Gin said finally, they'd slowed down without her noticing, petering to a close halt.

"I don't know, I just don't feel like I know you well enough. I mean you know which university I go to. It's not a big deal. I just want to get to know you better." She argued.

"...And ya think by knowing where I graduated from, that'll make ya know me better?" Gin asked amusedly. She scowled, he was making fun of her again.

"..."

"Fine," He relented, seeing no change in Rangiku's expression. He knew that once Rangiku set her mind on something there was no way to shake her off, of course that had been the root of several petty arguments, but it was nothing he couldn't talk his way out of.

"If ya must know, I graduated from Las Noches University. Happy?"

Rangiku nodded and didn't press the question further, but a sense of foreboding started to fill her being that was getting harder and harder to ignore. LNU was notorious for accepting juvenile delinquents and students with "special needs" who needed extra attention and care. Most of the people she knew from LNU were renowned drug dealers, druggies or both and she knew this because… because… She closed her eyes, trying to stop going down the path her mind was taking her to once more. It was a fact, if you wanted something illegal, you got someone from LNU to do it. But that didn't mean that Gin had to be part of it, you could attend university without getting influenced by your peers, right? ….Right?

Gin paused by a door that was a peculiar shade of green.

"... I didn' expect company t'day, so the flat is a little messy. I've yet to clear out the filth." He said apologetically, hand on the knob of the front door. "I hope ya don' mind."

She shrugged, her apartment was plenty messy as well. Through her cloudy doubt, she couldn't help but feel a slightly grain of excitement well to the surface. They'd been dating for several weeks and Gin was a well known presence in her apartment now, often eating staying to eat breakfast with her and Nanao but she'd never been to his flat. She didn't want to impose, especially as he kept making excuses and reasons why his flat wasn't to be visited, but now that he'd invited her, she sure wasn't going to pass up this chance to peek into a slice of Gin's life. A home told a lot about a person, y'know.

He opened the door and ushered her in.

Immediately she noticed the strong musky, male scent that permeated the space. It smelled like Gin, only a hundred times stronger. She could tell that he'd had the flat for quite some time to make it smell so like him. She breathed in deeply, catching a small undertone of something that smelled a bit like…

"Dried grass…?" She murmured.

"Dried grass, the lady says!" A voice sounded from her right, as she rounded the corner.

Sitting at a round table were four boys-about-to-be-men, with their clean shaven faces and lean bodies, seated around a table lit by one dim lamp that hung overhead.

Rangiku stopped in her tracks, looking to Gin as to what she should do. She wasn't expecting company. She didn't know what it was, maybe it was the dark, hazy atmosphere in the room that made it hard to make out the expressions of the occupants in the room, but she felt as exposed as ever, knowing that four pairs of eyes were checking her out extensively. Instinctively, she pulled her jacket around her form closer as if to shield herself from their burning gazes. Rangiku backed away slowly and bumped into Gin's chest.

"I told ya, I've yet ta clear out the filth." He murmured in a carrying whisper that was clearly meant for all the people in the room. His arm snaked around her waist protectively as he brought her closer to the table. The guys let out an appreciative laugh, not bothered in the slightest how they were openly insulted.

"Here, I'll introduce ya. From the right- Aizen, Kira and Luppi." Gin said nodding at each person. The guy named Luppi was staring at her intensely, well staring at her curvaceous chest to be precise. She glared at him pointedly and turned away slightly, trying to block Luppi's view.

"And whose that?" Gin mumbled, squinting at the fourth person hunched over at the table. "Aizen, did ya bring that pet o' yours again? How many times have I told ya he gives me the creeps?"

"He's incompetent on his own." A deep voice said simply, Rangiku turned to the source, a fairly well built young man with glasses sat calmly at the head of the table, drinking something from a teacup.

"That's Wonderweiss." Gin added to her, "Don't sit next to him."

After a scuffle of the addition of chairs, Rangiku ended up sitting between a quiet guy called Kira and Aizen, while Gin sat comfortably between Aizen and Luppi.

For awhile, no one said anything. The only thing that could be heard was the clink of Aizen's cup against the table, and Wonderweiss's peculiar whines and moans, as he played with the ends of Luppi's long sleeves. Rangiku felt so awkward, she didn't know any of them and they didn't seem to take a particular interest in her either. Well Luppi did, he was still staring at her chest, but somehow she felt that crossing her arms over them just made things worse, which proved to be true as Luppi's grin grew even more lewd.

"Ran's interested in where people go ta university, helps her get ta know them better, apparently." Gin broke the silence lightly, looking at her through slitted eyes, in an almost challenging way. She blushed, Gin knew exactly that wasn't what she meant. He knew that question was meant for him, and him alone. It was meaningless to everyone else.

However, brief introductions were made and it turned out both Aizen and Gin had graduated from Las Noches at the same time, Luppi was still a junior at LNU and Kira was a freshman at Seireitei… And well, Wonderweiss hadn't even graduated from highschool yet.

"Rangiku chan," Luppi said with a devious smile, "D'ya like snakes?"

Before she could say she was deathly afraid of them, Luppi stood up and disappeared into the dark kitchen. She'd forgotten that Gin owned a snake, she remembered with a sinking heart. She hated reptiles. Aizen just sat calmly, sipping his tea, but his calculating eyes were riveted on her face, gauging her reactions. A sound of a glass top sliding and a rustle of something was heard. When Luppi came back, he was stroking a medium sized white snake that had coiled itself around his arm several times.

The snake hissed, it's tongue flickering, tasting the air- and Rangiku's growing apprehension.

"Be gentle with Sasha." Gin warned, eyes trained on his beloved pet.

Luppi walked towards her still, crooning at the snake softly. He raised his eyes to her, smirking. Rangiku tried leaning away as far as possible so she wouldn't have any contact with the serpent, but Luppi came closer still.

By now, she was less than thirty centimeters away from the reptile, who had taken a keen interest in her, beady eyes watching her closely. She felt a cold sweat drench her skin as she maintained eye contact with the snake.

It suddenly reared it's head and the swift movement had Rangiku shrieking and nearly falling into Kira's lap.

"Enough!" Gin stood up and cajoled the snake into hand, putting her back in the glass tank quickly. He shot Luppi a glare but Luppi didn't care as he just laughed and took his place at the table again.

"Don't worry about Luppi, he does that to every newcomer." Kira whispered, smiling shyly from under a curtain of blonde hair. "Sasha's harmless really, the most she'll ever do is hiss at you."

Rangiku could only nod, the fear prompted adrenaline was making it hard for her to talk and summon words to communicate.

"Hey, Kira, you going to play?" Luppi interjected suddenly, not caring whether he was interrupting or not.

Rangiku looked up, without her noticing, a deck of cards were laid out on the table in an interesting formation, and glasses were filled with a clear something that was obviously not water.

"Sure, why not." Kira accepted a small pile of cards.

The game started, and the more she watched the more confused she became. It was clear that the game had nothing to do with the suits, or the numbers or even the colour of the cards. At first she'd tried to follow, wondering why Luppi would suddenly cackle in glee or why Kira would groan in frustration. Aizen and Gin seemingly had the best faces of all, for Aizen's expression never changed, eyes glued on the cards that he held in his hands protectively, while Gin flashed the widest grin in his repertoire, not giving his hand away at all.

Rangiku grew tired and isolated as the game seemingly escalated, and she was left to stare into the game like a child staring into a toy shop. The sidelong jibes, insults and bursts of laughter that followed made her feel like she was the only one not included in the private joke. She raised her eyes to Gin, trying to communicate her discomfort but he was absorbed within the game, resting a hand on Aizen's shoulder as he provoked Luppi into throwing down yet another card.

She desperately wanted Gin to stop playing and come over, but she knew that was completely out of line especially with his friends here. She wouldn't ask for his attention, she decided. She'd wait till it was given to her.

Someone lit a blunt and it was passed around. She refused and was surprised when Kira took a small drag. The overpowering, sweet grassy smell was starting to make her feel dizzy and slightly nauseous. A feeling that she hadn't felt for a long time. Her fingers itched to grab the bottle of Patrón that was sitting comfortably on the wooden table top, strewn now with ash and cards. Rangiku growled inwardly, she swore she wouldn't drink anything stronger than 15% and she wouldn't. All it took was iron fist and a steadfast heart...right? No matter how tempting, how inviting, the quality tequila was calling to her, she refused to give in. She clenched her fist and resorted to an old habit of distraction. She picked up a strand of her strawberry blonde hair and started looking for split ends.

The game wore on, with Kira becoming louder and more vocal with each glass of alcohol. Luppi had stopped smiling and had started swearing, threats becoming more and more violent. At last, the game came to an impromptu end when Wonderweiss had accidentally banged into the table, knocking over the open bottle of Patrón, spilling alcohol all over the cards. No one seemed to care or reprimand the confused boy as he wandered towards the window aimlessly. Rangiku secretly thanked Wonderweiss for ending the game, but briefly wondered whether he'd done it on purpose. One thing was for sure, if he hadn't done it, she certainly would've.

Gin tossed his cards into the center of the pile of sopping cards carelessly.

"Clean it up. My house, my rules." He stood up and stretched, finally looking down at Rangiku. The twinkle in his eye told her to follow him.

She did.

Gin's room was stained a dark inky blue, as the sun sank deep into the Earth waiting for another day.

Before she had a chance to take in the decor, he'd nudged the door shut with his foot and had scooped her to him, her back flush against his chest.

"'M sorry about that, sweetheart. I'm all yours now." He whispered against her neck, kissing it, smoothing down her flustered feathers of wrangled emotion gently. "I'll make sure they won't be here next time." He turned her and kissed her swiftly on the lips.

Gin pushed her back down on to the bed and started working on unbuttoning her blouse. But Rangiku just couldn't get into the moment. With the exception of Kira, she had to admit she didn't really like Gin's friends. They brought forth feelings of nervousness and apprehension. It was all feeling too uncomfortably familiar and she couldn't shake Toshiro's words from her head. You're dating a guy that you don't even know. The card games, the alcohol, the weed. It was all too fucking familiar and suddenly she was struggling to breathe as she forgot what it was like to stay sober.

"Gin." She gasped, and not just because his mouth had freed a naughty nipple from her bra.

She couldn't ignore the hushed whispers that Aizen and Gin had been trading all day, the privatised looks and glances. She knew what they meant. She'd seen them all before. It was all a horrid rendition…

But until anything was said, nothing could be proven.

Gin's inquisitive fingers were stroking at her skin softly, nudging material aside, finding softer and sensitive flesh as they crept up her ribcage like a delicate ladder.

Rangiku exhaled deeply as his fingers came to stop atop her breast, teasing the puckered skin there gently, but she didn't feel anything.

She knew she had to know.

There was no way she could live, without knowing.

"Gin, do you deal?"

* * *

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**And the story continues...**

* * *

_x_

_1. Will NOT lose 3 kilos by the end of June, because Ichimaru Gin says so._

_2. Will stop drinking but not around Ichimaru Gin, because drinking with Gin is fun. _

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky, but will not hold Ichimaru Gin responsible for any tardiness._

_4. Will DEFINITELY fall in love with Ichimaru Gin. Over and over again._

_As edited by yours truly,_

_Ichimaru Gin._

_x_

_Chapter 11_

_x_

"Gin, do you deal?"

The words were quiet, but the silence that had followed the question had been deafening. Rangiku's ear rang with the eerie sound of nothing as she held Gin's icy blue gaze. Neither of them said anything. The tension was so palpable, it was starting to smother her. She wanted to take back the ridiculous question, but the words hung between them like an obnoxious rain cloud.

By this time, the sun had sunk completely into inky darkness and the ominous feelings that were pushing both of them, intensified with the dark silence. The only sounds were the small tickings of the clock on the desk, counting each second it took for Gin to formulate his answer. The words of a lie were pressing against his mouth, he knew what she wanted to hear, but he knew that lying would only make the situation worse and he wouldn't lose the one person that he'd grown to truly care for. Still, he held her stare, feeling her chest rise under his fingers and her heartbeat begin to quicken.

Gin slowly did up her shirt, focusing on each button with determination and finally sat up. Rangiku followed in suit, heart pounding.

The darkness of the room cast his face into a half shadow and his facial expression became even harder to read.

"...Gin?" Rangiku pressed softly.

"Yes."

"Is that a 'yes' I deal or-"

"Yes." The word came out clipped and harsh. They both fell silent again at the brittle truth.

"Why?" She said at last. _I thought you were different. I thought things were going to be different._

"Does it matter if I did or don'?" Gin asked almost half pleadingly, reaching to grasp her wrist- as if preventing her from leaving. He could see the way Rangiku's body had stiffened at his answer. "I needed the money."

"I thought we were going to be honest with each other here."

"Well ya never asked."

"I shouldn't have to ask about this sort of thing! You-"

"What good," Gin interjected, "What good would it have done, if I told ya tha' I deal? Would you have reacted any differently, than ya're now?"

"I couldn't tell ya, it's not somethin' 'm proud of, but it's somethin' that keeps me alive." He continued, when Rangiku said nothing. "I didn' wan' to tell ya, I jus'... I jus' thought I could show ya the good parts o' who I am."

He gave a wry laugh at that, pushing a hand through his silvery hair. The ends brushed his nose as he looked at her from under his eyelids.

"I suppose ya want ta know why, righ'? Simple, student debt and I couldn' pay it off, not even tha', I was about ta lose a place ta sleep and even the chance ta eat. I had ta take the job...then I found out, I was good at it as well. I was goin' ta tell ya, but there was never a righ' moment in time…"

"D'you, do you take them too?" Rangiku asked with a deep breath. Her hands curled into fists and she found herself breaking Gin's intense gaze, unable to face his answer. She didn't want to hear anymore than she had to.

"No. I just sell 'em."

She was quiet. Thinking. Something was catching up to her inside and she felt the urge to run away, run far away before it caught her in the same trap, but this time trapping her for good. She swore this she'd save herself from ruin and realising when one was in trouble was the best time to get out of it. Rangiku had been in too many situations where she'd waited out the consequences only to have gotten out too late.

It was similar to the video about a frog and hot water. Except, this time she was the frog and Gin was the hot water, and she knew she needed to get out fast.

"I think...I think should go." Rangiku slid off the bed, buttoning up the rest of her shirt and wrapped her scarf around her neck, she didn't look at him even as he grabbed her wrist, preventing her from leaving.

"Ran- don' go. Please. Are ya really goin' ta let this change what we have?" He looked at her, something like desperation in his eye. Gin should have been used to people coming and going in his, and he had plenty of girls slamming his door on their way out; but somehow the thought of Rangiku leaving him for good was cutting a ragged hole where his heart should have been and it was damn painful. His throat constricted and he had no idea why. Gin's hold on her thin wrist tightened and his lips pressed into a thin line, waiting for her reply, silently begging her to stay with the little emotion he could portray.

"I need to go, I'm sorry Gin." She gently pulled out of his grasp and opened his bedroom door, remembering to pick up her school bag on the way out.

She cringed briefly as she heard the sound of something shatter hard against a surface along with a foul curse.

* * *

She sat crosslegged in front of her open closet silently. She was still digesting the exchange of the afternoon and she was feeling conflicted about it. In honesty, she knew she should get out while she could. Rangiku could only guess where the rest of the relationship was going to go from here. Drugs changed people, whether they wanted to admit or not. The relationship was still fairly new, only a few weeks old, and she could leave without leaving any lasting scars. But the real question here was, did she really want to?

She'd started the year, intent on never getting into a relationship if it was going to hurt, but here she was only a few weeks later, dating someone. She buried her face in her hands. When was she ever going to learn? Rangiku had thought the pain from her previous relationship was a lesson learnt enough, but when Gin came into her life and soothed out the rough patches with his knowing smiles and gentle words, she couldn't help but lean into the healthy attention he was giving.

Gin was laid back, he never asked too many questions and he always seemed to show he cared even without having to say any sickeningly sweet words. But coming to his apartment today made Rangiku realise how little she actually knew about him.

She told herself that Gin was just a little light something to get over the unsteady bump in her life, but somehow, the more time she spent with Gin the more she let him get to her and it was easy. It was easier for her to trust than to doubt. To keep doubting and preserving distrust was more tiring than she thought.

Rangiku thought back to Gin's confession earlier today and bit her lip.

Would she have continued the relationship, had she known what he was earlier?

Her fingers twitched to her phone and only when she was halfway through typing a text to Toshiro asking for advice on the matter, she realised with a sickening, gut wrenching stab of pain that he wouldn't answer anyway because she'd driven him away to the point of no return.

Her hands curled into fists in her lap, phone dropping to the floor.

She couldn't get rid of the crawling sensation on her skin ever since she met Gin's friends. They hadn't been rude or mean to her outright, but they still filled her with a feeling of uneasiness, as if the snake had coiled itself around her body, slippery scales sliding along her delicate skin.

She let out a shiver and ran her hands over her arms to tame the goosebumps that has risen there.

Meeting someone's friends often told a lot about the person, and people also tended to revert to being themselves around familiars. Her teeth pulled at her lower lip as she remembered the feeling of being completely ignored this afternoon and the gripping feeling of being cornered when she had been confronted by the white snake. Though Gin had come to her aid, she couldn't help but feel that he could have stepped in a bit sooner. She didn't notice that Gin had a certain sadistic, ruthless side to him which leaked out during the heated card game.

She'd watched him provoke his friends, taking some sort of pleasure in making them squirm when they realised they were losing heavily. She'd watched him with pursed lips as his mouth widened into an even bigger smile.

Rangiku had sworn to leave that part of her life behind, the drugs, the alcohol and everything else that came with it. She liked Gin, but she didn't like the surmounting risk he was building up. She wouldn't allow herself to be hurt by the same thing in the past.

Which brought her to the closet she'd been sitting in front of for the past half hour in contemplative silence. The closet was filled with clothes, of course, but behind were silhouetted outlines of cardboard boxes. Boxes that held a series of odds and ends. Rangiku finally reached for one, frowning.

She didn't know why she kept these things. She ran her hands over a silky black baby doll, she dug further to find all discarded lighters, a grinder and a small plastic bag covered in white residue. Her lip curled in disgust as she hunted through her past.

She went through box after box, her movements soon frenzied as she relived old moments in her distorted past, old short dresses she wore, stained high heeled pumps, far too glittery lipstick, masks and even part of a shisha pipe.

Why, why couldn't she just let go of all these things.

Her fingertips brushed against the edge of a wooden frame and she pulled it out, her silvery eyes met sharp, taunting dark green orbs, hiding beneath a mess of rusty coloured hair. She dropped the photograph in shock, breathing heavily. It had been awhile since she'd seen the face and it felt like someone had punched her in the stomach.

When Nanao came back later, the room was pitch black that she almost missed the figure sitting on the floor, shoulders rising jerkily. She rushed in.

"Rangiku? Rangiku, what's wrong?" She gathered the girl into her arms, soothing her. She took in the messy room, strewn with provocative clothing and underwear and drug paraphernalia. Things she hadn't seen in a long time. But she wasn't surprised that Rangiku hadn't thrown them away. She always had trouble letting go of things.

"...Is it, something to do with Gin?" She said softly, rocking her, trying to quieten her distraught friend. "Did you get into a fight?"

Rangiku only let out a wet sound that was a cross between a choke and a moan.

"Gin… deals." She said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

Nanao understood immediately and sighed, holding her tighter.

"Look, ...don't think about Ichimaru-san for this week. Just focus on your stats exam and then we can sort this out together, alright?" She rubbed soothing circles into her back, till Rangiku sat back and looked at Nanao. Her usually bright and cheerful eyes were devoid of emotion, but the only thing that gave her away was the gnawing of her lower lip.

"Do you think I'll pass?"

"That depends on how hard you study." Nanao said primly. "Up you get, I'll help you clean this up. Do you want to pack it up or throw it away?"

Rangiku contemplated her response.

"Throw it away."

Nanao smiled.

"Alright then."

* * *

True to her word, Rangiku threw herself into her studies and she stayed up late each night with her maths textbook, trying her best to understand the equations and explanations that followed. Oddly enough, after her massive clean out, she felt lighter- like a weight had been lifted off of her body. Perhaps, she'd finally try and leave the past behind. She refused to let thoughts of Gin or Toshiro distract her. Every time they'd float unbidden into her statistics filled mind, she'd push the images and thoughts away with vengeance and she'd furiously look down at her textbook, intent on trying to drum the information into her head than their images.

But what was curious was that neither Toshiro nor Gin had so much as called her or even texted her. She'd expected Toshiro to ignore her messages and calls, but Gin? She killed the thought before it formed completely in her head. She'd finish the exam and deal with everything after that.

With a grim expression on her face, she took another sip of her black coffee, no additives, and frowned down at her textbook and notes.

Her heart was pounding furiously against her ribcage. Three hours till the exam. She'd written and rewritten the cheat sheet she was allowed to bring into the exam, over five times during the past week. Usually she would study maths with Toshiro as he'd watch over and explain things patiently, but without his aid she'd suffered and it took her twice as long to get through the material.

She was nervous.

And sleep deprived. She'd slept a total of three hours not including staying up late to get some extra cramming in. She knew it was futile, if she didn't know the information then there was no way she'd remember it tomorrow. She nervously took another gulp of black coffee.

This past week, her diet consisted of coffee...and more coffee in an effort to maximise her studying time. Now not only was she exhausted but her heart was beating a thousand miles per minute with the caffeine and nerves.

Despite having studied diligently, she knew absolutely nothing. It was the day of the exam and she couldn't recall which equation to use when calculating a confidence interval or how to calculate a random sample. She was dying inside. There was no way she could pass the exam.

She looked over her cheat sheet again but the numbers blurred past her eyes and the coefficient of each equation was sending her into deep hole of panic.

Her eyes darted subconsciously toward her phone, just to check if Ichimaru had called or left any messages, but of course her phone interface remained a blank as it had been for the past week. She was torn, she didn't know whether she wanted to face Gin and the conflict that had risen between them, or to pretend nothing had ever happened from the beginning.

Rangiku took another fortifying sip of her now cold coffee before pushing it aside. She pressed her fingers into her eyes and tried to still her beating her, that was fluttering around her ribcage like a bird trying to escape a cage. She stifled a yawn, knowing that it would do her no good to fall asleep during this crucial exam.

She had to pass, there were no if's or but's.

But God! If only her heart would stop making it seem like it wanted to beat right out of her body! The hammering only grew worse with the approaching deadline and as Rangiku found her seat in the large exam hall, she had to press a hand to chest to stop feeling so overwhelmed. Students were chatting and were relaxing, lounging in their seats in the few precious minutes before the two hour exam started. How could they be so nonchalant? She wanted to scream.

_Calm down_. She hissed to herself.

She took out her pencils and pens and lined them up to the side, only to move them a few minutes later to the front of her desk. The anxiety was getting to her, and a slow but steady ache started to build up at the front of her head, making her even drowsier than ever. Rangiku suddenly saw Toshiro slouch into the room, music playing in his ears as he ignored his peers, finding his seat near the front. He cast his eyes over the hall and she could have sworn they made eye contact, but Toshiro acted like hadn't seen her. The only thing that gave him away was the stiffness in his shoulders that appeared when he sat down, knowing that she'd be watching his back intently.

"Hey Rangiku." A sickeningly sweet, feminine voice had her whipping her head to the source of the noise.

"You missed an amazing party last weekend." Riruka said with a bat of her eyelashes, tossing her hair over her shoulders. Rangiku could only glare at the girl, not in the mood to hide her emotions in typical female fashion.

"What do you want?" She snapped, not caring if she sounded rude or not. Her headache and nerves were making her feel even more on edge and she had no intention to deal with Riruka's mind games today.

"I met someone who said he knows you, in fact he really wants to see you again. I think you know who." She winked at her before floating away, but not before whispering the name in her ear, leaving Rangiku to freeze in her seat, heart about to give out on her and the fight going out of her instantly.

The exam proctor was patrolling down the aisle asking people to turn off mobiles and tuck bags under desks, and Rangiku quickly straightened up in her seat as another proctor followed handing out the papers.

She drummed her fingers nervously on the desk as she stared down at the blank stack of paper on her desk. She would not allow herself to fail.

At last the hall was silent, spare the sounds of rustling and fidgeting. All eyes were focused on the timer in front of the room set for one hundred and twenty minutes.

The proctor cleared her throat.

Every student sat poised in their seat holding their breath, hands hovering above their paper. Tension was thick in the room as they watched the proctor open her mouth.

"You may begin."

Immediately the flurried sounds of paper being turned hurriedly echoed around the large hall as pens and pencils began to scratch against the exam sheet.

Heart in her mouth, Rangiku turned to the first question determinedly and paled.

_Find the cumulative probability of the…_

Her eyes darted to her cheat sheet scanning for the formula that would help her find the answer. The girl sitting beside her had already been scratching and working on an equation, furiously as if she knew the answer. It was distracting. The frustration in her attempt to understand the question was making her headache worse and a thought of Gin floated into her head unbidden. Riruka's words cut through her mind and all the thoughts that she'd been repressing this entire week started to leak into her mind, with the ache and stress that was working away at her mental resolve.

She placed her pencil on the table lightly as to not make a noise and pressed her fingers to her eyes trying to lessen the dull, throbbing pain behind them. A curious, prickly cold sweat was starting to bother her skin as the beating of her heart increased. Her heart was hammering so hard and fast against her ribcage, it was starting to make her feel lightheaded and woozy.

* * *

_i._

_She dug into the drawers and shelves and hunted through the closet, not caring about breaching boundaries or privacy. This had to be done. She was so tired of everything and she was going to get rid of the root of the problem._

_Her fingers curled around a small bag filled with a mass of dried green that faintly resembled thick moss and another bag that held a small amount of white powder._

* * *

Rangiku jerked up from her reverie, she hadn't realised she'd been daydreaming and tried to focus on the paper. She mouthed the words to the question, in hopes that she'd bring back something from her memory, but her frustration was making her hot and dizzy and she had to loosen her collar.

* * *

_ii._

_The front door slammed shut and hurried footsteps immediately entered the bedroom where there were the sounds of drawers opening and things being sifted through. Rangiku herself, sat at the rickety kitchen table quietly, with a hard look in her eyes. In her pocket contained a bag of weed and MDMA._

_Movement from inside the bedroom stilled and Hiro stalked into the kitchen like a large cat hunting for prey. His gaze settled on Rangiku, who met his stare with a glare._

_"Where are they?" He demanded._

_"I have no idea what you're talking about." Rangiku said coolly, and flicked an invisible speck of dust off her fingernail._

_"I need them for tonight." Hiro insisted and he moved closer._

_Rangiku reached into her pocket, maintaining eye contact with Hiro the entire time. Her fingers curled around the drugs and she laid them on the worn table._

_"Is this what you were looking for?"_

* * *

The words blurred and swam before her tired eyes. She felt like she was going to be sick. She reminded herself that she was taking an exam, but her weary mind kept slipping into a semi state of sleep. No doubt punishing her cruelly for her lack of sleep for the past week. Her stomach churned and saliva gathered in her mouth.

* * *

_iii._

_Hiro made to snatch the bags but Rangiku slammed her hand down on the table covering them before he could even reach them. The force of her hand surprised them both and effectively stopped Hiro in his tracks._

_"Don't you dare. You promised me you would stop dealing." Her eyes flashed. "Or were you lying?"_

_He stared at her before giving up a harsh bark of laughter._

_"Babe, did you really think I was for real? All this time, you're still as young and naive as when I first met you. When I first drugged you."_

_He circled the table and came round to her side, forcing her to look up if she wanted to keep eye contact with him. He bent his head lower to hers as if to kiss her._

_"I hate you." She snarled, cheeks reddening at his words and his proximity._

_"Stop pretending to be the victim here." He breathed softly, his hand cupped around her chin, fingers digging into her cheeks. She twisted out of his grasp and her expression darkened into a dirty glare as she clenched her jaws together._

_"We both know you're not exactly innocent here either. I never heard you say stop once. You enjoyed what I gave you and more. You used what you could to escape your problems, your reality. Once you seek out the forbidden, there's no turning back and you will never change. It's too late to stand back and pretend you have nothing to do with this world. You're guilty, tainted and dirty and that will never ever change. Hate me all you want, I don't care. You took what you could, so you're in this, just as much as I am."_

* * *

"Matsumoto san, are you alright?" A concerned voice reached her ears, and she struggled to focus on the sound. Her eyes landed on an elderly woman- one of the proctors, whose severe lines softened into concern for her wellbeing.

She realised she'd stopped writing, and her pen fell slack beneath her fingers. Rangiku couldn't open her mouth for the fear of vomiting, so she gave a weak smile and nodded to the lady, hoping the feeling would go away.

The proctor gave a small sound of affirmation and continued her patrol down the aisle.

* * *

_iv._

_The tension in the air was thick, and Hiro was glaring at her just as hard as she was at him._

_"Now, be a good girl and give them to me." He said softly, voice leaving no room for discussion but Rangiku held her ground, hand tightening over the small plastic bags, almost crushing the contents._

_"No."_

_He took a towering step over her, trying to intimidate her with his height. But he'd forgotten that Rangiku was just as tall as him when she brought herself up to her full height. Her piercing eyes and long face which usually wore an expression of silly joy of happiness, now matured into a furrowed look of disgust and her full lips had pressed into a thin line. Her expression matched the very age of the young woman she had become._

_"Don't think I won't hesitate to use force." He whispered hotly, tracing her rib. The bruise had faded but she definitely remembered the force of his hand against her the other day when they'd gotten into a petty argument. The blow effectively ended the argument, but it was the first time he'd ever hit her and it shocked her greatly. She shivered at the memory, resolve wavering slightly. She'd passed off the incident as just one of his withdrawal symptoms but it was then she'd realised just how far she'd fallen down the rabbit hole of drugs and the deceitfulness that followed it._

_His hand had flattened against her body and it moved upwards till it cupped the outline of her left breast. Her eyes narrowed further and before she knew it, her hand had collided with the side of his face with a stinging slap._

_"Don't you ever touch me again." She hissed, shying away from his touch, her hand burned with her valiant effort and her anger mounted further._

_Hiro showed no sign of having been slapped, the only thing that gave him away was the reddening of skin on his cheek and the ugly look that had developed on his face. He slowly advanced toward her until she'd backed up against the wall with no where to escape._

_His hand slammed into the wall next to her and she let out a small yelp of surprise. Her right hand still clutched at the drugs though, refusing to let go._

_"Give them to me." His hand curled into her soft locks of hair painfully, as he forced her to look at him. She snarled in response._

_"I told you, I wouldn't hesitate to use force." Hiro said quietly, hand tightening in her hair. No doubt probably ripping out a few strands as he twisted the hair in his grip cruelly._

_Suddenly blinding sparks flashed across her vision as she gasped, a dull throb stemming from the back of her head. It had happened all too fast and the pain hadn't quite reached her senses yet._

_He slammed her head against the wall again till she cried out in pain this time, and the hand holding the drugs opened in order to grip his hand that held her captive, trying to tug him off of her._

_He let her go and she slid to the floor carelessly. Rangiku lay there unmoving, indescribable pain filling her head, clouding her vision._

_"You're a good girl."_

_He bent down to pick up the fallen bags and walked out of the kitchen._

* * *

"Matsumoto san?"

* * *

_v._

_How long had she lain there? An hour? Two hours? One day? Her vision swam and she cried out softly with the effort to try and raise her head. She could see her phone on the table, buzzing urgently. She stretched her hand towards it, as if she could magically reach the phone without getting up._

_Her body strained, but her head felt numb and swollen. The dull throbbing had broken out into a stinging wave of pain and blinding heat every time she even tried to move her head._

_A tear slipped out of her eye at her futile situation._

_How did she ever end up here._

_"Rangiku!"_

_She could hear someone call her distantly and urgent footsteps rushing into the room, but she was probably dreaming, her eyes were slipping shut anyway. She could only give in to the darkness that was threatening to consume her. Everything felt so far away. So muffled and quiet._

_"Rangiku!"_

* * *

"Excuse me, can someone come over here? I think this student is feeling unwell. Honey, can you hear me?"

* * *

_vi._

_"...Rangiku, can you hear me?"_

_"What's… going on?"_

_"Are you ok? No don't answer that. I've stopped the bleeding though. Head wounds always bleed more than they should. Can you see properly? How many fingers am I holding up?"_

_"Two… I think… Toshiro…?"_

_"I came over as fast as I could. I knew something had happened. Takahashi was arrested tonight."_

_"He what..!?"_

_"Don't try and sit up, you might start bleeding again. Calm down and listen to me. I was there at Sonido tonight and Takahashi was acting rougher than usual. I couldn't see properly but looks like he started a fight with someone. Someone probably called security and we all bolted, but I heard he was caught for possession and for starting a fight. No, listen to me! I thought it was strange how I didn't see you with him tonight, not only that you didn't pick up your phone at all so I thought that something had happened and I got here as fast as I could- Rangiku?"_

_"Oh God. Oh God… It's my fault."_

_"What, what's your fault? Nothing is your fault. Takahashi got arrested for being in possession of class B drugs, if you ask me he had it coming-"_

_"You don't get it. If only I could have...stopped him. I should have stopped him! I was just so useless and I let him get away-"_

_"Rangiku! You're bleeding again, calm down!"_

_"No! This is my fault! I have to fix this."_

_"Stop! Stop moving. Dammit, there's so much blood… I can't-"_

_"Toshiro, you have to...you have to...help…"_

_"Rangiku?"_

_"..."_

_"Rangiku!"_

* * *

TBC

**_This chapter was the hardest chapter for me to write, and I'm not exactly happy with it even though I've rewritten it like three times. But anyway. Thank you for reading!_**

**_Also I'm sorry for the fluke chapter earlier today, I realised that I had a major part missing due to technical problems. But anyway, the chapter is done. (for now) and the end is in sight!_**


	12. Chapter 12

**And the story continues...**

* * *

_x_

_1. Will NOT lose 3 kilos by the end of June, because Ichimaru Gin says so._

_2. Will stop drinking but not around Ichimaru Gin, because drinking with Gin is fun. _

_3. Will stop cutting classes and playing hooky, but will not hold Ichimaru Gin responsible for any tardiness._

_4. Will DEFINITELY fall in love with Ichimaru Gin. Over and over again._

_As edited by yours truly,_

_Ichimaru Gin._

_x_

_Chapter 12_

_x_

Rangiku slowly opened her eyes. White light was streaming into the room and across her face making her squint when she fully came to. The unbelievable warmth and comfort that surrounded her felt so natural. Piece by piece, she took in her surroundings. The cracks in the ceiling, the soft blue covers… soft blue covers?

She bolted up, heart in her mouth. Where was she? Wasn't she supposed to have been taking an exam? Whose room was she- a familiar soft smell of musky maleness that she recognised, pressed around her from all sides. Her thoughts were confirmed when Gin walked into the room with a cup of tea in one hand.

"Oh, ya're awake."

Though her heartbeat had calmed slightly, it immediately jumped up at the sight of him. There were so many questions racing around her head and it was making her dizzy. She didn't know where to start.

GIn held up a hand as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Ya fainted at school an' apparently my number was first on your phone's speed dial, so I picked ya up."

Rangiku blinked. Well that explained why she was here and not taking an exam. She still had difficulty meeting Gin's face after walking out on him from this precise place not more than a week ago.

Gin chose to sat by his desk rather than on the bed, keeping a healthy distance from her.

"Ya feelin' better? They said ya might've overdosed on caffeine. Apparently that happens a lot with students before exams." He shrugged and pushed the tea towards her.

Rangiku paused, then her eyes widened.

"Wait!" She exclaimed, turning to Gin and forgetting the awkwardness she felt towards him, "Wait, does this mean I've failed my exam? Do I have to resit it?" Her heart thumped against her chest and she squeezed the blanket in her grip.

"They said depending on your final score, you may or may not hafta re-sit your exam. But only the results will tell." He answered and propped an elbow to support his head as he looked at her through slitted eyes. Rangiku looked away quickly.

"I can call a taxi for ya, if ya want ta leave." Gin said after a moment.

There was a long silence which was only punctuated by the soft sounds of birds chirping in the distance. Cars rumbled on the roads and life was proceeding as it should, but not in this small room.

"I guess, I guess I should go. I don't want to be anymore of a bother." Rangiku said finally, pushing back the covers. She still didn't look at him.

"Ya're not a bother. Don' leave if that's the only reason that's keepin' ya from stayin'."

"I…" Rangiku struggled with herself. On the one hand she wanted to stay buried under the comfort of Gin's sheets, but on the other she felt something tugging at her to leave and stop furthering her feelings for Gin, when she might get hurt in the process.

But when her eyes finally met Gin's, she saw how concerned he was and how much he wanted her to stay. Something inside of her twitched. Maybe she could get over the whole thing about Gin dealing. After all, it's not like Gin and Hiro were the same person, right? There was a lot she wanted to say to him, ask him…

"I'd… I'd like to stay, if I'm not a bother." She said softly.

Gin only nodded as he stood up.

"I'll run a bath. Ya can get in when it's done." He walked towards the door.

"Gin?" She asked tentatively from his bed. "Can we...can we talk later?"

"Later." He said and walked out.

Rangiku soon heard the sound of water rushing out of the tap and filling a bath. She could hear Gin busying himself in the kitchen, pans clattering and cups clinking. The soft, homely noises sent her to sleep again, despite having slept for over twelve hours since yesterday. Her body was eager to make up for the amount of sleep she'd lost this week, and it quickly claimed darkness once more.

* * *

Something was shaking her awake gently and she opened her eyes. A quick look at the clock on the bedside table, told her that she'd slept for half an hour. She felt a piece of her hair being moved and noticed that Gin was tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Their eyes met and suddenly he jerked his hand away, as if the action had burnt him. She hid a smile, so Gin was feeling just awkward as she was.

"Bath's ready." He mumbled, a light blush marring his pale features. He held a hand open, waiting for her to take it. Rangiku paused at the gesture, but she let out a small smile and shyly placed her hand within his.

He was strong and he lifted her to her feet in one fluid motion. She yelped as the sensation of pins and needles raced up her legs. Gin caught and steadied her before she fell.

"I can walk by myself." She bristled.

"Really?" Though she couldn't see his face, the amusement in his voice gave him away. He suddenly let go and she flailed as she tried to take a wobbly step. Gin laughed as he secured her around her waist.

"I thought so." He said smugly.

Rangiku gave him a light smack, but a smile wafted on to her face anyway. It had always surprised her how at ease Gin made her feel. It was no exception even now, as she let him guide her to the bathroom. Maybe she could try and look past everything and just go with her instincts instead of reason.

The bath looked hot and inviting, as steam covered every surface.

"Oh!" Rangiku exclaimed as she look closer. "You made a bubble bath."

Gin made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, and she turned and realise he was slightly embarrassed. She never seen Gin embarrassed before and she found that it was a cute contrast to his typical sultry, cool behaviour he displayed normally.

"Well, aren't ya goin' to get in?"

"Not with you in the room!" She flushed at the thought of Gin undressing her.

"Ya sure you're goin' ta be alrigh? I won't do anythin'- I jus' want ta make sure ya don't slip and injure yourself further. Besides it's nothin' I haven' seen before." He informed her, looking genuinely concerned for her wellbeing.

"I'm fine." But her body betrayed her as the pins and needles in her legs nearly had her falling into the tub.

"I promise not ta look." Gin offered and Rangiku let out a loud sigh. She suspected deep down that she didn't exactly mind either.

Together they made a little factory chain where Rangiku would take off each article of clothing and hand it to Gin, while he folded them neatly and set them aside on the counter. Rangiku's back faced towards Gin so he absolutely couldn't see anything, even if he wanted to.

She slipped into the bath, water coming to lap over her chest. The water was hot but it felt nice and soothing against her tired muscles. The bubble bath while not giving much fragrance other than the standard smell of soap and maybe something floral, was extremely bubbly and full of foaminess.

Gin busied himself with getting a washcloth and rolled up his sleeves. He gathered up her hair, wrung out the ends gently, before expertly tying her hair up into a knot above her head. Rangiku was impressed.

"Where did you learn to do that." She asked with mild interest.

"I used to have a sister." Gin shrugged as he lathered up the washcloth. "She had pretty long hair too."

"Used to?"

"... My sister and parents died in a car crash when I was about thirteen." The washcloth stilled against her back from the briefest moment, before starting to rub gentle circles into her skin.

"Oh...I'm so sorry to hear that." Rangiku winced at her words, though they were filled with genuine sincerity, Gin must have heard those words a thousand times already and considered them empty.

"It's fine, I've learnt ta live with it." The washcloth moved steadily, cleaning her.

"You don't have to… do that. I'm tired, not invalid." Rangiku said softly, turning to Gin- pausing his ministrations.

"But I want ta." The answer came resolutely and Gin's hands made her face forward again. "I want ta show ya, that you can trust me."

She was silent, she couldn't say anything to that as Gin had hit the nail on the head without her even saying anything. Rangiku thought about the small valuable information that Gin had just given to her. He clearly thought that she was a person worthy of keeping his secrets. He didn't really seem like the type of person to confide in just anyone. Though his tone had been light and casual as if discussing the weather, his measured tone underlay a certain cautiousness as he judged how Rangiku would accept a small part of his past. She found that she wanted to know more about Gin. He intrigued her.

Rangiku played with the bubbles while he soaped her back, the flannel nuzzling beneath her shoulder blades and behind her ears, between the soft curves or her shoulders and the dips of her spine.

The bathroom was quiet, spare the sounds of water lapping up against the sides.

Finally, the last of the bubbles met their watery end and Rangiku stepped into the towel that Gin held open for her, pleased to note that the pins and needles had gone from her legs. He wrapped the soft white towel around her before leaving her to dry off in her privacy.

When Gin left, she took a moment to look around the bathroom. She was surprised at how sparse the room was. There was a mirror and a cup holding a toothbrush situated next to the sink. Apart from some soap and a can of something that look like shaving cream, the counter was bare. She honestly hadn't expected there to be much, judging by how secretive Gin was to begin with. Her bathroom in comparison was littered with makeup products, facial products and all sorts of odd ends of jewellry, bobby pins… Everything that represented her face to society lay bare on her counters.

She wore her old clothes loosely as she walked back into his room and found Gin sitting at his desk writing something.

He looked up and motioned for her to sit on the bed, placing a pen on the table, hiding what he'd written with one arm.

"Ya wanted ta talk?"

Rangiku let out a large exhale, fingers curling and uncurling in the soft covers. She couldn't avoid Gin's light blue eyes that were piercing hers, waiting for her to start the inevitable conversation.

"I suppose," She began tentatively, "I suppose I should ask you what you want to know first...and I guess I'll fill in the blanks."

Gin was silent, lips pressed together. Seconds ticked by but it felt so much longer than that due to the pressure and tension in the room. Butterflies tickled at Rangiku's stomach as she awaited his response.

"Will ya tell me about wha' happened in your last relationship?" He asked finally.

Her eyes that had been maintaining Gin's stare for the entire time, suddenly broke contact and shifted to the side nervously.

"Ya don't have ta tell me, if ya don't want to."

"No… I will. You deserve to know." Rangiku swallowed and began recounting her tumultuous past with Hiro.

She began explaining how she met Hiro at one of the events last year and how her life slowly spiralled out of control due to drug abuse.

"I admit, Hiro was right when I became dependent on MD. I couldn't blame him for what he did and how he acted because then I'd just be a hypocrite.

"But at the same time I was so scared. I wasn't sure if I loved him or the drugs more at the time. Everything was becoming so blurred and so many lines were crossed. I kept getting all these warnings from people, university but I tried covering up my fear by taking more and more substances. And the more I took them, the worse everything became. I started losing friends, but I told myself I didn't care because I had Hiro. But when Hiro started… started acting strangely- shouting at me, pushing me around- I panicked. Everything started crashing around me, I realised that I had no place to go because I pushed Nanao away and even To-Toshiro started to act distantly."

Rangiku paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

"I blamed myself for the longest time that night Hiro got arrested. In a way, I am eternally grateful to the fact that he didn't bring my name into court. He probably had the chance to, but I suspect his pig-headed nature and his arrogance prevented him from doing that." She let out a wry laugh at that.

"But here's the worst part. Despite everything that had happened between us, I still loved him. I honestly believed that if I could wean him off drugs that we'd be happy together again, the way everything had started. So, the day when he was released, I waited outside because I thought I'd show him that everything was okay between us.

"Turns out someone else had the same idea. When she asked Hiro who I was, he didn't even so much as look at me, and I won't forget the words he said after that.

"'_I don't know who that dumb, crazy bitch is_.' That's what he said and he got into her car and that's the last time I ever saw him."

"There were so many emotions, I didn't know which one to confront first. The anger that he'd been cheating on me? Or the humiliation that I'd been played for a fool. In the end it was just a combination of every negative feeling when I came to the realisation that no matter what happens, people never change.

"You think you can change people and yeah, they might act like they have, but in the end their true self always comes out. You can't change people, no one can do that."

Rangiku wasn't aware of how hard she was breathing till she realised the soft pants she was hearing, were issuing from her mouth. Her hands had balled into tight fists by her sides and she wasn't even looking at Gin anymore. She didn't know how he'd take everything.

"... Thanks for tellin' me all this." He lay a hand across her knee gently, easing some of the tension out of her. "Makes sense why you flipped out when ya found out I was into stuff like that."

"I'm sorry, I just… I should have told you earlier. I just didn't want to get too attached in case… anything happened." _In case there was a repeat of last time_. She thought to herself. But he seemed to understand exactly what she was thinking.

"And I'm sorry I didn't get to... get to try to know you better. About your sister... and family and just your past. I'd like to know more, if you want to tell me?" Rangiku said hesitantly, shame colouring her cheeks at her confession.

"Nah, don't worry about me, stuff about me can wait another day. " He gave her a smile before straightening up in his chair.

"Rangiku, I really like ya- Hell, I even-," Gin stopped abruptly and Rangiku lifted her eyes to his surprised.

"You even what?" She pressed, leaning in closer wanting to hear what he was hiding from her.

"Nothing." He pursed his lips together, unwilling to admit anything. "My point is that, I understand if you want ta break up. I won't stop you from leavin' because I don't want you ta be more sad than ya have ta."

"And I definitely don' want ta be the cause of that unhappiness." He added when she just continued looking at him in a surprised manner.

"But I also want ta remind you of what I told ya when we first met. I'm just a guy tryin' to find a job. An honest job that pays the rent and maybe a few dinners with you, if you'll allow me ta. It's not like I ever wanted to be roped into shit like this. But I want ya to know, that I'm doin' my best to get out of it. Forget what I said earlier, Ran. I can't let ya go. When ya came into my life, as cliche as it sounds, just the way you took in everythin' and expressed yerself, the way ya depended on me...thought I was a good person, it honestly made me wan' ta change. No- ya gave me a reason to change. I know ya don't believe that people can, but I wanted ta change for ya. To be the person you thought I was."

Gin was speaking rapidly, but he couldn't stop now. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so open with somebody, but once he started he found out it was hard to stop. Something in him was just desperately trying to convince her to stay, to communicate, to tell her that she was the light guiding him out of his darkness, his reason to find the right path again.

"I won' stop ya if ya want to leave. But just know that I'll be thinking of you everyday, whatever I'll be doin'."

They were both so close now, Rangiku could see the desperation and fear in Gin's eyes. Their foreheads almost touching due to the fact that they'd both started leaning toward each other in the midst of Gin's uncharacteristically, passionate speech.

And so, in that tense moment in time, Rangiku did what she felt was only natural.

She leaned in and kissed him.

Gin started briefly, before tentatively kissing her back, fingers threading into her soft strawberry blonde hair unsurely. He didn't know exactly what he had been expecting from her after his confession, but with the feeling of something like a heavy burden being lifted off his chest and the dizzying feeling of her lips on his, he found out that he didn't mind this reaction at all.

"Does...does this mean ya'll stay?" He pulled back to look her.

"What do you think?" She said in exasperated amusement as she leant into give him one last kiss. "I don't believe people can change… but I hope you'll be the one to prove me wrong."

"And about the other thing- me too." She said, blushing a little, looking away.

"Wha' thing?" Gin asked, confusion clouding his face.

"You know… about liking me. I mean! I don't mean I like me- I mean I do but- I meant that I like you too." She stammered, tripping over her words.

Gin let out a harsh bark of laughter and pulled her in closer.

"I'm glad ta hear it." He whispered in her ear.

* * *

Rangiku was sleeping soundly when Gin shook her awake.

"Phone for you." He held out her phone that was vibrating insistently. She checked the caller ID and hesitated before picking up.

"Hello?"

"_Just checking to see if you're ok._" A brusque voice came over the receiver. "_... Are you ok?_"

"Yeah, I'm fine now." She paused for a second. "Toshiro, I'm really sorry-"

_"It doesn't matter, Matsumoto. Maybe I was a bit out of line as well and may have misjudged...him."_

"I'm still really sorry for what I said though."

_"Ichimaru seems like a good guy… but you know if he does anything, tell me ok? I'm only looking out for you. You're still one of my best friends...despite everything."_

"I know." An unbidden smile crept up onto her face without realising. "You're my best friend too."

"_Okay, well. I just wanted to see if you're ok. Check in with Nanao as well, cause she's been really worried about you._"

"I will, and thanks Toshiro."

She ended the call and placed the phone on the bedside table.

"Everythin' ok?" Gin asked as he took in her glowing face.

"Yeah, more than ok." She smiled. It was a mark of their friendship that Toshiro had been the first to contact and rekindle their friendship as well as being willing to apologise for some of his actions. She was sure that not many people got off this lightly.

She lay back down and patted the space next to her.

"Ya're inviting me into my own bed?" Gin asked with one arched eyebrow, a playful smile dancing around his lips.

"Yes." She giggled. "Come here."

He didn't need any further encouragement. He slipped in beside her, arm wrapping around her waist possessively.

"I'm not goin' ta let ya go, you know that, righ'?" He nuzzled the side of her neck with his lips and nose. Rangiku hummed in appreciation.

"No, and I don't want you to let me go either."

Her mouth found his again and unspoken words traversed and coursed through their bodies.

_Because I love you._

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**Basically I am so sorry I haven't updated in a long time, because I had the biggest writers block ever. Today I just started writing and my muse struck me again. I'm sorry if people thought this chapter was a little boring ^^ but I feel like there has to be an explanation/wrap up to everything that has been happening so far.**

**TBC**


	13. Chapter 13

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_1. Will DEFINITELY fall in love with Ichimaru Gin. Over and over again. _

_As edited by yours truly,_

_Ichimaru Gin and Matsumoto Rangiku_

_x_

_Chapter 13_

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Rangiku bit her lip in nervous anticipation, uncrossing her legs and rearranging them for the third time since she sat down. She twirled a lock of strawberry blonde hair around her forefinger, staring out of the large window, coffee forgotten and going cold.

The bustling sounds of chatter, clattering and clinking of plates and cups sounded across wooden tables and there was the sound of constant movement. Of being alive. Rangiku's head whipped up and toward the sound of a bell tinkling pleasantly.

"You're late!" She accused, but her smile gave her true sentiments away.

"'m sorry! I promise ta make it up ta ya, sweetheart." Gin flashed her a wide smile, cocking his head at her, amused. She pushed a half cold cup of tea towards him.

"You know this wouldn't have gone so lukewarm if you actually came on time." She scolded as he took a sip gratefully.

"So where's the fire, wha' 'm I missin'?" He asked as she broke into a wide smile.

Rangiku broke his inquisitive stare for a brief moment as she slid her phone across the table to him.

Gin took it and read the email that was on the screen of the phone.

"I think this calls for a celebration, doncha think?" He said grinning at her, handing the phone back to her, almost breaking into a brief laugh as he watched her nod enthusiastically.

Is this what it was like? To let yourself love and be loved, and be damned with any of the consequences? He told her he couldn't promise her tomorrow but he would always be her today. She told him, that she wouldn't have it any other way. But todays stretched into weeks, and weeks into months and before she knew it, it wasn't just the birds and butterflies outside that were fluttering around like mad hummingbirds.

But it bothered her. She knew she loved him and he, her. But he hasn't uttered those three special, and goddammit, cheesy monosyllabic words. It bothered her, it bothered her, it bothered her. She could never ask, it had to come from the heart and the timing couldn't be spoiled. She wanted a genuine confession of love. Was it too much to ask that she wanted to see a childhood fantasy play into reality?

"So, what do ya want to do?" Gin smiled, cocking his head at her. "If you want I could give you some ideas…" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her and Rangiku pushed him away, laughing.

"Can we go to that amusement park that just opened? I haven't been on a roller coaster for ages." She sighed dreamily as Gin lifted her to her feet and kissed her cheek.

"We can go anywhere ya want, I just need ta pop back to the flat to get some stuff and check up on Sasha."

"Alright." Rangiku giggled as he held the shop door open. Nel waved a cheery goodbye from the counter and winked at her, mouthing something, probably along the lines of _you go girl_.

Gin's flat was close to the coffee shop, no more than a twenty minute walk away. It was a pleasant day and the seasons were changing into a much more mild kind of weather. The sweet air and the calm breeze played around the collar of Rangiku's shirt. She laughed as Gin pulled her to his side, fingers searching and playing with the edge of her top.

He couldn't keep his hands off her. Her soft skin was maddening, tempting him. If they hadn't been walking down the street, he was pretty sure that they'd be defiling the nearest surface. In a way, he felt a need to be connected with her- not just sexually, but mentally and even just holding hands. It reassured him that she wouldn't leave him- them. It was ironic to him, that when everything started, it had been her that had been afraid of him leaving. How things had changed. Gin looked down at Rangiku, who was talking animatedly about her success passing her statistics exam. He tuned out, and watched the way her eyes shined and her skin glowed in her happiness and excitement. He felt her hand squeeze his, lacing their fingers together and something twitched deep within his heart, if he had one.

Once he got the door to the flat open and ushered her in, he quickly closed it and pushed her against the wood, placing his lips on hers hotly, one hand slipping and cupping her ass at the same time.

Rangiku's eyes fluttered shut and her breath caught in her throat.

When he pulled away, she was breathing heavily and her cheeks were a healthy shade of pink.

"What was that for?" She asked.

"Nothin'." Gin grinned at her and bent down to place a perfunctory kiss on her nose. "Jus' sayin' hi."

"You're so weird." She rolled her eyes, but as she pushed past him, she let a wide smile take over her face. It was little things like this, unexpected kisses, little touches that made her heart leap and jump, making her feel like she was thirteen all over again.

Once she reached the kitchen, she made a beeline for the fridge and opened up a bottle of red.

"Tch, drinkin' already? It's only one in the afternoon." Gin, reappeared with his wallet and a bag of dead mice. "We have ta go soon anyway."

"Don't come any closer to me!" Rangiku shrieked, suddenly catching sight of the petrified mice in Gin's hand.

"Or…?" Gin took a step closer, teasing her. She quickly scooted around the counter, putting distance between herself and the horrid dead mice.

"Gin stop, this isn't funny. If you get hurt, it won't be my fault." She yelped as she brandished the bottle of wine wildly.

"Alrigh' alrigh', keep your panties on… or don't." He winked at her. Gin slid the glass tank open and dropped a mouse in it. The snake flickered it's tongue, tasting the air and the tension. He tapped gently on the glass and slid the top shut again.

"You ready to go? No last make up fixes or whatever it is women always take five hours ta do."

"Oh shut up." Rangiku jabbed Gin in the side, watching in satisfaction as he doubled over. His sadistic tendencies were rubbing off on her, she mused, as Gin rubbed the sore spot.

Suddenly, a jingle sounded from Gin's pocket and he hurriedly fished out his phone.

His eyes widened at the caller ID.

"I have ta take this, I'm sorry. I promise we'll go soon as I finish, okay?"

Rangiku shrugged, not minding in the slightest, because it meant that she actually got a moment to enjoy the wine that was still in her hand.

Gin answered the call and was pacing around the living room, back turned to her so she couldn't hear or eavesdrop on the conversation. She hoped it wasn't serious. Rangiku started opening cabinets and cupboards, intent on finding a wine glass. She found two drying in the wash rack and poured a healthy amount into both. She walked over to Gin and handed him one before making her way back to the kitchen, to leave him in privacy.

She sat herself on the counter, crossing her legs that dangled over the edge, showing off miles and miles of creamy leg. She watched Gin talk in low tones, scribbling something on to a piece of paper. The look of intense concentration on his face was one that she rarely saw, and she drank it in. She hoped the phone call was nothing serious. Whatever it was, she'd trust him to tell her.

She sipped at the wine, observing the snake that was slowly digesting the mouse with a look of mild disgust. There was something about disgusting things that you couldn't stop watching them.

Gin hung up, and made his way over to Rangiku who put down the wine glass and stretched her arms to him.

He made to pull her off the counter, but instead he found himself being pulled towards her. Her legs parted slightly, allowing him to stand between them.

She reached up to kiss him and he groaned, pulling her ass towards him so that she was flush against his chest. Her bare foot petting and stroking the side of his thigh as she deepened the kiss.

"Wha' about the amusement park…?" He said in between kisses.

"We can go some other time." She gasped as he bit down on the juncture between her shoulder and neck. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you had no intention of going anyway, right?"

He chuckled lowly. "Righ' ya're." He started sucking on her neck, making a deep red mark appear. "Ya read me like a book, sweetheart."

"It took practice." She half moaned out as he lifted her up, still kissing her skin. Rangiku hooked her legs behind him so she wouldn't slip off as he carried them to a familiar place.

She landed on the bed and their mouths instantly reconnected. She could kiss Gin forever if she had to, he tasted sweet and his lips were always so soft, ready to meld to her's without a moments hesitation. Gin's hands worked to get her top unbuttoned, while she threaded her hands through his silky hair, kissing him all the while.

Though they kissed a lot, it didn't mean they had had sex. In fact the last time they had done it was before everything blew up between them and her accident at school. Things hadn't seemed right and neither of them were going to push comfort barriers, especially what had been revealed about each other. But both of them were more than happy to use the time to build trust and get to know one another closely. However this also meant that the time that had settled between them left Rangiku's body hotter and more aching than usual as Gin pressed down on a nipple. Her back arched into his palm as he bent his head to kiss a trail of open mouthed kisses down her neck.

Gin pulled back briefly only to shrug off his shirt, exposing his chest and his thin hips. Rangiku sat up and almost purred with the way she ran her hand down his lightly muscled chest, that flexed under her inquisitive hands. She pushed him down gently and sat, straddling his hips, hands placed on his stomach.

Once she had his full attention, she slowly raised a hand to stroke her neck and made her way down to her ample chest, still held in a lacy bra. She raised both arms, making her breasts strain against the material, aching to be touched. Below her, Gin shifted slightly, but his eyes never left the show.

Rangiku placed two fingers in her mouth, as she peered at him under half covered eyelids. She started sucking the digits, moving them in and out of her mouth slowly, her small pink tongue catching the details between the valley of her fingers in a dirty mimic of what else she could do with that hot mouth of hers. She felt Gin's hands on her hips, capturing them in a punishing grip as he hissed with desire. Unconsciously, his tongue came up to lick his lips as he continued to watch her suck off her fingers in this lewd manner, that left little to the imagination. He could feel his jeans tighten, and it didn't help that her comfortable weight was right on top of his straining cock.

Saliva was beginning to run down her hand and it was at this point she released her fingers with a soft pop and held them out to Gin. He immediately latched on to them, tasting the sweetness, teeth grazing her skin gently and tongue following straight after. Rangiku moaned at the treatment and shrugged off one side of her shirt, baring one creamy shoulder. She could feel the hard bulge that she sat directly on top of, and she ground down lightly with her hips.

His reaction was instantaneous, his hips rising up to meet hers and the hands on her hips pushing her across his groin insistently, rubbing her against him. They both groaned at the delicious friction and the consequential heat that had erupted between each other. Rangiku let out a shudder, a small shiver breaking out across her skin as she fought the instinct to just close her eyes and lose herself in the moment. She wanted to stay awake and savour each moment, each touch and sight.

Cupping Gin's face in her hands, she bent down to kiss him all while rubbing against him at the same time. His fingers were digging into her ass and sliding down to massage the backs of her thighs briefly.

"I want you." She whispered against his mouth. "I want you."

Never had the desire to connect with one another had been so deep and primal.

Gin felt it too.

He brought a hand up to cup the back of her neck, supporting it as he sat up and lay her down upon the bed again, settling in between her thighs.

They took a moment to breathe together, feeling their hearts beat in tandem with each other. Blood was rushing through her ears and desire was thick in the air.

She let him slip off her skirt and she propped herself on her elbows, watching him undo his belt and kick off his jeans. His cock stood proudly against his stomach, hard and aching, dripping with precome. She couldn't resist taking it in one hand and giving it a small languid stroke, feeling the thickness and the heavy weight against her hand.

Rangiku sat up straighter so she could concentrate on Gin's hardened length. She placed her mouth around the tip, letting her tongue flit and trace the edges of his sensitive slit. Slowly she started bobbing her head, taking more and more of his length in increments. She looked up briefly to see the Gin had squeezed his eyes shut, jaw clenched.

Saltiness was beginning to flood her mouth as she started a rhythm of long hard sucks. Her thumb teased the base of his cock that met his balls, feeling the hardened muscle beneath soft, supple skin. When she tried to deepthroat him however, she found herself being pulled off of him.

"Wha-what's wrong?" She asked nervously, "Did I do something wrong?" Colour flooded her cheeks.

"No, no ya did nothin' wrong. You're just.. a little too good." He said through clenched teeth as he gripped the base of his cock hard, trying to quell the urge to come on the spot. His cock, pulsed hard in time with his heart beat and was beginning to become harder and harder to ignore the urge to be in her.

Gin settled himself on top of her when he felt like he wasn't going to blow his load as soon as he entered her, guiding the head to her entrance, feeling the slickness that had gathered there. Rangiku moaned at the anticipation of being filled. So close. Her back arched in an effort to draw him into her, but Gin's cock stayed adamantly out of her.

"Patience…" He smirked, and finally began pushing into her.

Rangiku's hands immediately shot up to grip Gin's shoulder, legs locking around his waist tightly as he started a rocking motion against her. She was so full, so full of emotion and his physical presence that she was afraid that if she opened her mouth she'd be spilling her heart out. However, the only sounds that did come out of her mouth, were little 'ah's and 'oh's as Gin made soft and tender love to her.

They had pressed against each other so tightly that she didn't know where he began and where she started. His head was buried in her neck, his breathing harsh against her skin as his hand trapped one of hers to the pillow beside them.

Rangiku's face on the other hand, was pressed against the side of Gin's neck, inhaling the deep scent that was so irrevocably Gin. His scent had deepened with the muskiness of sex and the dark primal scent that males exuded.

Rangiku was no virgin and she was no stranger to sex. She'd had picture perfect sex, hot sex and all sorts of sex, but she'd never thought that she'd feel so completed in the desperate way they were both clinging to each other now. Their close proximity made her feel hot, warm and safe. Her hair was everywhere, sticking to him and plastered to the side of her face. It was neither sexy nor hot, but it was perfect to her. The sweet feeling of being filled and the way Gin was mumbling incoherent words beside her ear was making her feel dizzy in the best kind of way.

It wasn't explosive sex, the way couples would race to find their end. No, this was truly what you would call making love, where it was all in the act of finding completion together.

And when Rangiku came, it wasn't with a strangled yell or scream, it was a soft sigh of surprise as she tightened around Gin, legs shaking, body rocking against his unconsciously as she rode out the sweet, calm orgasm. Gin himself, had never been a vocal person in bed, he finished just as quietly, the only telltale signs of his tension being relieved was the way his hand almost crushed hers, pushing it down into the pillow, tongue grazing the side of her neck in an almost fervent manner.

They were just lying in bed, soaking up the afterglow of their lovemaking, enjoying the last of the sun's rays against their tired bodies. Gin's hand was languidly stroking up and down her arm absentmindedly. Rangiku was fully intent on taking a nap, head on Gin's warm chest when he spoke.

"I love ya."

She froze. She wasn't even sure she heard correctly because of the way Gin carried on as if he hadn't said anything. She lifted her head up to look at him.

"Excuse me?"

"I think I love ya." Gin said, looking at her, pale blue eyes staring into hers with resolution. There was no doubt behind those eyes. He spoke like he was discussing the weather. He spoke like he was stating a fact…

"I… I love you too." For all the build up in her life, the words sounded foreign in her mouth. She spoke them again. "I love you." Better… but not quite.

"I love you."

"I love ya."

"I love you!"

"I love ya, too."

Rangiku laughed pushing her hand into his and pressing into his side closer. Resting her hand on top of his chest, she looked deep into his eyes, knowing without looking that his mouth had curled into his wide smile.

"I love you." This time, she said it softly, but full of conviction. The words sounded right and they had meaning packed behind them. It felt so right, so natural to say them out loud. "I love you so much."

"Ran, ya know that phone call earlier today?"

"Mmm?"

"...Well… I got a job."

"You did!? Congratulations!" She kissed him quickly, "What is it?"

"Don' laugh, but it's a job tending ta a persimmon orchard just outta town. It's not too far away though. Five days a week, decent pay…" Gin shrugged, but Rangiku could tell that Gin was deeply excited and happy inside, pleased with the outcome.

"I'm so proud of you. I really am." Rangiku said, cupping her hand against his face so he could look at her. "A good honest job, I couldn't be happier for you, Gin."

"...And on that note, I also wanted ta ask ya… if ya wanted to move in with me?"

"What?" A huge smile was threatening to break open on her face. "You really mean it?"

"Course I do. I love you." Gin hugged her closer, "Is that a yes?"

"Yes! God yes, one hundred times yes."

_The End_

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Epilogue:

"Oh God, Gin! Hurry up! Why do you always have to take such a long time? What are you even doing?! Move it!" Rangiku screamed from the living room after violently slamming the receiver down on the phone. "Lets go!"

"Alrigh' alrigh', Jesus. Keep yer hair on." Gin muttered, towelling his hair down. "What's the rush?"

"It's here, you dolt!" Rangiku snapped as she started sweeping keys and her wallet in a bag. "Oh, Gin, why did you decide to take a shower now? Can you put on some pants at least? Christ."

"Wha', it's nothin' ya haven't seen before." Gin grinned at her, proud to be on display.

"Gin! We don't have time for this, will ya please move it!? I'll be waiting in the car." Rangiku sighed exasperatedly, hand on her hip, but reluctantly let a smile tug at the corner of her lips. Gin swiftly crossed the room and planted a swift kiss on her lips.

"I'll be righ' there, sweetheart." He murmured and disappeared into their room to get dressed.

She sat shotgun in their new car. How nice it was to be out of college and just to be spending more time with one another without commitments. Getting a job had been simple, she'd simply joined the orchard tending business with Gin, and found that she didn't mind working with dirt. It was wonderful to be able to chart the progress of something living, watching it transform into something alive and beautiful. Working at the orchard had it's perks, they always got boxes and boxes of free persimmons as a thanks. Lovely fruit, persimmons were.

Gin opened the door and slid in, starting the car up.

"Ya know the way to the hospital, righ'?"

"Yeah, just keep going straight then take a left at the second traffic light and I'll lead from there." Rangiku said without looking at him, busy applying lipstick in the rearview mirror. Placing a pair of sunglasses on her face, she dropped the lipstick back into her bag as the car roared to life.

The drive there had been simple. As soon as they arrived, Rangiku clambered out, Gin in tow. They practically ran for the building, bypassing the nurse station and straight to a room they were familiar with.

"Momo! Are you alright? How are you feeling?" Rangiku asked, slightly out of breath as she peered over the bed at her sweaty friend.

"Does this look like I'm...nnngh, okay!?" Momo snapped without bite, from the lack of strength. She lifted a hand to her head, pushing away a sweaty strand of hair from her face.

"Mrs. Hitsugaya, push please." The doctor between her legs, coaxing the frazzled girl. Rangiku clutched her friend's hand as a way of support. She winced as Momo's nails dug into her hand. It looked really painful.

"Where's… Toshiro?" Momo asked feebly as she tried pushing again.

"I'll get him." Rangiku said quickly, "I'll be right back, okay, sweetheart? Hang in there." She gave her hand one last squeeze before leaving the room.

"Guys! Get in here, _now._" She hissed at the two males sitting in the plastic chairs outside. They trailed into the room after her.

Toshiro immediately grabbed Momo's hand.

"Are you okay, Hinamori?" He asked nervously,

"I'll kill you, Hitsugaya!" Came the retort and Rangiku took over, while Gin observed the entire affair with a curious look on his face.

The baby was delivered several long, painful minutes later without a hitch. Gin made a face at the bloody, wrinkled mess and Rangiku elbowed him in the ribs.

"What a beautiful baby, Momo." She cooed, as Momo gathered the now clean, baby in her arms, face streaked with drying tears and sweat. Toshiro was by her side, softly stroking the baby's cheeks with one finger, mumbling words of sweetness with awe and wonder.

And for once, not caring there was an audience, he bent down and kissed Momo full on the lips.

When they hadn't broken for air for thirty seconds or so, Rangiku pulled on Gin's hand and they exited the room. They could always call to fully congratulate later.

"What did you think?"

"It looked really messy and painful." Gin answered, one hand in his pocket and the other laced with Rangiku's hand.

"Well… I want one." Rangiku said hesitantly.

"Ya want one?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"...Yeah." She said softly, looking at him eyes big and pleading.

Gin pulled her to him and kissed her cheek.

"Then we better get busy, dontcha think?" He said, muffled against her lips, hand slipping to cup her ass cheekily.

Rangiku only responded with fervor, pouring her love into that single kiss.

Everything they had gone through, been through, it seemed like everything was ok. She now had the confidence to believe in herself and each other, that through whatever will happen, they could make it through. She could make it through anything with him by her side, and Gin would continue to teach himself to love and let himself be loved by the woman who taught him that life was worth living.

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**Afterword:**

**Hooray! The story is finally at it's end, and I'm glad I managed to actually finish it. I hope you guys liked the story... or if you didn't feel free not to tell me in the comments. **

**This is the first multichapter fic I've written in about two years, and I would like to think that my writing has improved since then. Of course, I still have a long ways to go as a writer.**

**I originally wrote this story for myself and I wasn't planning on posting it. I didn't really care about the review count that much, but I was still so deliriously happy when I saw evidence of people reading this story, and leaving thoughtful reviews. This was honestly meant to be a fic posted by Valentine's Day, but I'm a terrible updater. **

**I want to thank the following people, God bless them, for encouraging me to finish this story, without them I probably would have scrapped this story completely:**

_**Ichihime94  
Goduenas  
Angelus Erreare**_

**Anyway, once again, thank you so much, if you made it this far and kept up with me and this story!:)**

**xxx**


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